President Jacob Zuma’s supporters have taken a defiant air as leadership elements in the South African ruling alliance question the wisdom of keeping him on after the Constitutional Court found he’d flouted the country’s constitution.
A plan of action will be charted by the party’s national working committee meeting today and the ANC’s parliamentary caucus tomorrow.
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Veterans of the ANC’s anti-apartheid liberation struggle and party activists who served jail time with Nelson Mandela are among those calling on President Jacob Zuma to do the honourable thing and stand down.
The South African Communist Party says the apology made by Zuma and his undertaking to repay public money spend on non security upgrades to his private home are not enough.
But Zuma and his backers warned the party’s top leadership at their meeting last Friday of dire consequences for ANC local and national representatives if he is fired.
They says MPs job security will be endangered by Zuma’s departure.
This would play directly into the hands of opposition parties with municipal elections due next month.
Opposition parties will claim victory if Zuma is sacked as party leader which makes him the country’s president.
Sources in the leadership meeting say the consensus seem to be to maintain a unified front at least until after the local government elections.