Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki

HeavyweightsFuture South Africa has the backing of the foundations set up by the late President Nelson Mandela his confidant Ahmed Mohamed 'Kathy' Kathrada who died in March and former ANC leader Oliver Tambo; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu; and three former state presidents FW de Klerk Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe...

Since the ANC's 2007 Polokwane conference which saw Zuma oust Thabo Mbeki as party President delegates increasingly vote as provincial blocs backing one presidential candidate who in turn has his or her own slate of candidates for the ANC National Executive Committee as well as candidates for the national and provincial parliaments and municipal mayors and councillors (AC Vol 48 No 25 'Unstoppable tsunami')...

As all factions cast around for solutions to the knotty problem of the succession some ANC leaders outside the Zuma-Ramaphosa battleground want former Deputy ANC President Kgalema Motlanthe to take the presidency on an interim basis just as he did when Zuma defeated Thabo Mbeki for the ANC presidency at the 2007 Polokwane Conference (AC Vol 48 No 25 'Unstoppable tsunami')...

At a fringe event former President Thabo Mbeki present throughout the Mining Indaba expressed surprise that Mining Minister Mosebenzi Zwane had attended only the first day of the meeting while his deputy left the following day without resolving questions over the government's new mining charter...

Also close to Dlamini-Zuma is Zanele Dlamini Mbeki the wife of former President Thabo Mbeki...

As President Zuma had rewarded the former chief of the South African National Defence Force with a cabinet post for supporting him in the battle to topple President Thabo Mbeki...

They intend to confront the current ANC leadership backed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation the Thabo Mbeki Foundation the Oliver Tambo Foundation and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation...

Pushing Thabo Mbeki from the presidency and expelling the ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema who now heads the fast-rising Economic Freedom Fighters greatly damaged the party...

Something similar happened in 1992 when Walter Sisulu was brought in as Deputy President to forestall a damaging contest between Chris Hani and Thabo Mbeki...

The Western Cape ANC had been divided since the Polokwane Conference in 2007 when Zuma replaced Thabo Mbeki as party leader...

Ironically she was also unofficially banned from reporting on air after President Thabo Mbeki was ousted at the ANC's Polokwane Conference in 2007 (AC Vol 48 No 25 'Unstoppable tsunami')...