Johannesburg – Former President Thabo Mbeki has called on SACP boss Blade Nzimande to substantiate his claims that illegalities which occurred during his administration were now happening again under President Jacob Zuma’s rule.
In his address at the Cosatu central committee (CC) meeting at the St George’s Hotel outside Pretoria last week, Nzimande told delegates that Zuma’s administration had displayed “ambitions for an imperial presidential system”.
He reportedly said this was among the reasons Mbeki had to be recalled because “he wanted to create an imperial presidency”.
Nzimande said “zonke izinto” (everything) which happened during the Mbeki administration were happening again under Zuma’s administration.
Among other things, Nzimande said: “There were e-mails then. There are e-mails now that appeared yesterday” and “There is a rogue intelligence unit that operates outside the law which is listening to other comrades … the very same thing esasiyilwe’ uMbeki is happening today.”
In the letter, Mbeki said he was very interested that the Higher Education Minister substantiate the “startling and extraordinary statement”.
He called on him to give a detailed account how Mbeki’s alleged “imperial presidential system” manifested itself; how the then “hoax e-mails” compare with the recent alleged “Gupta e-mails”; and give detailed evidence of a “rogue intelligence unit” which operated during Mbeki’s administration.
As if that were not enough, Nzimande also needed to give details of the many things (zonke izinto) which happened during Mbeki’s administration, which were now happening again under Zuma’s administration.
Mbeki said all the “valuable information” Nzimande would provide would help to explain the historic and historical significance of what happened during the period leading up to, during, and after the 2007 ANC national conference in Polokwane.
At the elective conference, Zuma beat Mbeki to become ANC president, paving the way for him to become the country’s president in 2009.
Information to be provided by Nzimande would “help critically to explain what our revolutionary democratic movement must do correctly to address the important challenges you posed in your address at the 2017 Cosatu CC meeting”.
“I am making my appeal to you in this regard moved by the very correct observation you made during your address at the Cosatu CC that as revolutionaries we must live up to the Oliver Tambo injunction that – we must tell the truth, even if it coincides with what the enemy says!”
@luyolomkentane
The Star