Durban - South Africans have to find a peaceful exit for President Jacob Zuma and other cabinet members who may wish to follow him out of the government, Albertina Luthuli, daughter of the former ANC president Albert Luthuli, says.
Luthuli was among the struggle stalwarts taking part in a protest on Wednesday at Durban’s Gugu Dlamini Park, calling for Zuma to step down.
Other participants were Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of civil rights activist Mahatma Gandhi, Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip and University of KwaZulu-Natal law professor David McQuoid-Mason.
They were members of the Durban-based Active Citizens Movement who carried placards reading “Save SA” and “Stop political interference in NPA”.
Luthuli said the country was on the verge of a violent revolution, which responsible members of society should avoid by finding legal means of changing the current leadership before the end of its term.
“We have to find means of a smooth transition. We can have a plan of a smooth transition without war.
“Those who fail to lead us should not be made to feel bitter, instead they should feel that we freed them as they did not know how to hand over power,” she said.
Luthuli said while the country was facing economic and political crisis, the ANC was protecting Zuma through claiming collective responsibility.
“Who is going to be accountable when you say everybody is responsible for the mess? There is a final leader who must see to it that the people he had appointed to positions were acting as expected by the electorate. If he fails he must step down,” she said.
Gandhi said Zuma’s withdrawal of his application to halt the release of former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report was a victory for those calling for him to step down.
“That is a good sign. We have to grow stronger, and must not become euphoric about our victory because there is a lot that we should do,” she said.
She said ANC veterans across the country were concerned about the organisation.
“[Finance Minister] Pravin Gordhan is a member of the ANC who can redirect it, and so are lots of other people in the ANC, such as Comrade Ramaphosa,” she said.
The Mercury