Former president Thabo Mbeki is expected to release a letter on Monday, detailing what the current storm around president Jacob Zuma means for the country and its future.<\/p>\n
In a preview of the lettter released on Sunday, the former president says that the Contitutional Court judgement against Zuma must be implemented fully – failing to do this would threaten the entire democracy of South Africa, Mbeki said.<\/p>\n
While not pointing a finger to Zuma directly, the former president – who was recalled from the office in 2008 – said that the failure to observe foundational values, as entrenched in the Constitution, could constitute a “counter-revolutionary act”.<\/p>\n
Mbeki has joined a growing list of dissenting voices taking aim at the president, which includes senior voices in his own party, the ANC.<\/p>\n
People\u00a0who are calling on the president to go include: former finance minister Trevor Manuel; Dennis Goldberg, who stood trial with Mandela; Ben Turok, who once headed the ANC\u2019s ethics committee; and\u00a0Cheryl Carolus, the ANC\u2019s ex-deputy secretary-general who has served as South Africa\u2019s high commissioner to London.<\/p>\n
Businessman, Christo Wiese;\u00a0Mandela\u2019s former prison mate, Ahmed Kathrada; a group of 42 descendants of some of South Africa\u2019s most prominent political families; religious organisations – including the Anglican Church of SA\u201a the Evangelical Alliance\u201a and the South African Christian Leadership Initiative – have all backed the campaign to oust him.<\/p>\n
The move against Zuma started after he pushed one scandal too far in December 2015, in what has become known as South Africa’s “9\/12”. At the time, Zuma unexpectedly fired that country’s finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene, causing the country’s economy to collapse, wiping R500 billion off the map in a matter of days.<\/p>\n
Following the clumsy hiring and firing of then-unknown ANC back-seater Des van Rooyen, shocking claims were made by deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas, that he was approached by the Gupta family – friends of Zuma – for the position of finance minister, prior to Nene’s axing.<\/p>\n
The revelations put the Gupta family and Zuma under further scrutiny – and after the Constitutional Court found that the president had violated the constitution in the ongoing saga of Nkandla, the president has become to be seen as a liability for the ANC.<\/p>\n
According to reports, the ANC is divided on Zuma, but insists on putting up a united front ahead of the Municipal Elections to be held in August 2016.<\/p>\n
Sacking Zuma \u2018is not an easy call to make\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Gupta company asks Zuma for help: leaked letter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n