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By Sifiso Mahlangu 
1 hour ago
Johannesburg – The surprise reappearance of former president Thabo Mbeki at the ANC national executive committee meeting on Sunday ignited social media and raised questions about what his sudden return meant.
It seems that Mbeki’s card has been in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pocket for some time. One of the first trips Ramaphosa made after being elected president of the ANC in Nasrec in 2017 was to Mbeki’s home to ask for his support.
Sources within the meeting say Mbeki was hired to prevent the party from disintegrating at an early conference if ANC secretary general Ace Magashule was forced to resign.
The Star has been reliably informed that the Magashule faction was preparing to call an early conference if he was fired.
Mbeki, a seasoned negotiator, was hired to handle a possible sequel. Mbeki’s office and the Thabo Mbeki Foundation have not returned any of The Star’s calls.
The threat of an early conference that would potentially eliminate the top six was further amplified by MKMVA (Mkhonto Wesizwe Military Veterans Association) President Kebby Maphatsoe, who threatened the country with war if Magashule was removed or Zuma was arrested.
South Africa will be ungovernable. It will be an open war. Either fire the SG or arrest Zuma, ”Maphatsoe warned.
Another source from Luthuli House, the ANC’s headquarters, revealed to The Star that Ramaphosa first offered Mbeki the position of leader of an envoy to the US to boost economic growth, but he declined.
Mbeki suggested, however, that Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, former vice president and wife of former Scorpions boss Bulelani Ngcuka, be named.
Zuma also appeared at the NEC, a play that Magashule later defended, saying that “the NEC was wiser because of the assistance of Mbeki and Zuma.”
It appears that Mbeki will now be an active factor in Ramaphosa’s decisions, under a code phrase used in the Ramaphosa inner circle known as “Rescind the Zuma phenomenon.”
Magashule declined to comment on whether Mbeki was hired to handle the consequences that would come if he was removed.
“They won’t take me away. That’s. The ANC is working, ”Magashule said.
Magashule is also said to be very close to ANC General Treasurer Paul Mashatile.
In 2008, the then NEC resolved to remove Mbeki as president after Zuma’s defeat at the party’s election conference in Polokwane the previous year.
Later in 2008, Mbeki was angry that the ANC had announced that he would campaign on his behalf after he fired him.
In a letter to Zuma, delivered to Luthuli House, Mbeki complained that party bosses had not consulted him on whether he would be available to help in the election campaign.
Mbeki is understood to have complained about the irony that the same ANC that removed him from office because it did not trust him saw fit to publicly announce that he was expected to campaign on his behalf.
Mbeki also claimed that he had been targeted for bringing Judge Chris Nicholson’s trial, implying that he was guilty of political meddling and abuse of state resources, under review.
The NEC meeting will conclude on Tuesday.
The star
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