Since democracy came to South Africa in 1994, 16th December has been celebrated as a day of reconciliation. But this year it may instead hark back to its apartheid incarnation, when it marked the bloody defeat of Zulu king Dingane by early Afrikaner pioneers. For it is on this date that a group of former ANC leaders will launch a new political party, the most significant split in the organisation for almost 50 years.
Those who have quit the ruling party and emerged as leaders of the new entity—which may be called the Democratic Congress—include former defence minister, “Terror” Lekota, the former premier of the rich Gauteng province, Mbhazima Shilowa, and a host of other less senior leaders who back former president Thabo Mbeki.
It was Mbeki’s precipitous removal from office by the Jacob Zuma-led ANC in late September that galvanised his supporters into action. The controversial Zuma, who defeated Mbeki for the ANC presidency in December 2007, forced Mbeki to step down as the country’s president seven months before his term was due to expire, after a judge ruled not only that long-standing corruption charges against Zuma should be dropped, but also that they were politically motivated, driven by Mbeki.
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