Mbeki Congratulates Zuma or So We Hear
Our former president Thabo Mbeki apparently congratulated president-elect Jacob Zuma on his victory at the polls, or so we hear from his spokesperson .
Anyone who heard his chat with reporters on election day wouldn’t have a clue who Mbeki voted for - which of course is his right.
When asked about his voting choice though, Mbeki offered an answer so ambigious it wouldn’t be hard to imagine that he penned his own name on the ballot.
In retirement Mbeki is no more or less of a mystery than when he was president of our little republic.
Rumour has it that Mbeki wanted another Zuma to succeed him as president – Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma , Foreign Minister and former Health Minister. Alternatively Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
And what little we know of Thabo Mbeki, magnaminity wasn’t one of his virtuous.
So we can only imagine how that offer of congratulations to his nemesis went down.
We can only wonder if paced his study in his brand new secured house somewhere in Gauteng while downing a bottle of expensive brandy and wrote a letter like he did in October after he was recalled.
Or did he just down the brandy and command someone one his staff (the cleaning lady,perhaps) to write congratulations blah, blah, blah on his fancy letterhead, stamp it with his signature and send it to Luthuli House?
However that letter got to Zuma, he probably doesn’t care one way or the other.
Instead of playing childish political games, Thabo Mbeki could be doing so much more to grow COPE or by heading an IDASA like organisation, instead of keeping up appearances that no one is buying.
South Africa needs a strong opposition and it needs to come from strong African political roots.
