Durban - President Zuma has rejected claims that he is a “thief” who has fleeced state coffers for his own benefit since assuming office.
He was speaking ahead of a meeting on Monday with the ANC’s national working committee where he will face some of his biggest critics. He will meet 101 veterans of the ANC who have called for him to step down.
The veterans include Ahmed Kathrada, Cheryl Carolus, Murphy Morobe, Wally Serote and Andrew Mlangeni.
The meeting was postponed on Friday as Zuma and other top six leaders were at events across the country and were unable to attend.
A defiant Zuma told ANC supporters at a cadres forum in Pietermaritzburg on Friday that he knew those who were fleecing state coffers.
“The truth is I am not a thief and there is no evidence to support this claim. That is why I am not bothered by such accusations. The truth is those who are accusing me of stealing are the ones who are enriching themselves through theft. I know who they are,” he said.
While not naming them, Zuma promised that at some point he would publish a tell-all book which would give a detailed account of the “secrets” he knew about certain individuals.
“Long when I am gone, when you are old, you will read in a book what I am referring to right now.”
Zuma said all the accusations thrown at him did not worry him, as he knew the truth and felt pity for those making remarks about him.
On Saturday, Zuma spoke at the KwaDukuza Town Hall, and said he was not used to working with “weak men” who quit in the face of difficulty.
Thousands of ANC supporters wearing T-shirts bearing Zuma’s face and the words “Hands off my President” attended the events.
Speaking off the cuff, mostly in Zulu, Zuma said he was concerned about “cadres” who used the media as a platform to address their issues.
“This is a recipe for disaster,” he said.
Zuma was scathing about ANC veterans who have called for his head, saying he had last seen some of them after the democratic breakthrough in 1994.
“They went into business and now they re-emerge whining about everything. Where have they been?”
Zuma said that if the media had not been present on Saturday, he would have “spilled the beans” on why he was being attacked by comrades who had fought alongside him in the Struggle.
He said some overseas countries were “pumping in money” to members of the ANC to bring him down.
Independent Media