[I am becoming ever more fascinated by the whole Zuma episode. It is extremely bizarre to say the least. I am watching bemused… Something BIG is definitely going on inside the ANC… and exactly where its roots lie are a mystery to me.

I did read where someone commented that ultimately, all politics becomes tribal (not just in Africa). Maybe that is the explanation here. Maybe not. Maybe there is more. Jan]

Jacob Zuma should still become president of the African National Congress, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) said on Monday.

The ANCYL will continue to canvass the relevant structures on the matter, league president Fikile Mbalula told reporters in Johannesburg.

This follows statements by the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions that they had never said they wanted Zuma to be the president of the ANC.

There is no reason yet for the league to change its position on the succession debate, Mbalula said.

Although Zuma will go to trial on corruption charges and is facing an allegation of rape, he should be considered innocent until proven otherwise in court, he said.

The ANC will decide who should become its next president in 2007. The ANCYL believes the president of the party should be the president of the country.

Asked whether the ANCYL would accept Zuma’s standing down as the ANC’s deputy president if he is charged with rape, Mbalula said: “When that happens, we will pronounce on that.”

According to the party’s constitution, Zuma could be accused of bringing the party into disrepute.

The National Prosecuting Authority is currently studying a police docket on the rape allegations. It has to decide whether Zuma should be prosecuted.

Zuma goes to trial for corruption in July. This follows Judge Hillary Squires finding there was a “generally corrupt” relationship between him and his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik.

After the judgement, many of Zuma’s supporters — including the ANCYL — accused Squires of being an old Rhodesian apartheid judge incapable of being impartial.

Asked if the ANCYL will accept the judge chosen for Zuma’s trial and his judgement, Mbalula said the league will deal with his credentials at the beginning of the trial.

He said because Zuma’s trial is so high profile, he is sure all decisions taken on the matter, including the choice of judge, will be done so that “whatever form of criticism will not find the light of day”.

The league once again criticised the media for their manner of reporting on Zuma.

It is illegal to identify a rape victim in the media. A rape accused may not be identified until he or she has pleaded to the charge.

Both the alleged victim and Zuma have, however, been identified in the media. The league is outraged “at this sort of reporting, which seeks to project the deputy president as guilty before being tried by any court of law”, Mbalula said.

He said the media’s handling of the allegations will put pressure on investigators to take a particular position.

He accused the media of undermining the rule of law and attempting to turn the country into a banana republic. — Sapa

Source: Daily Mail & Guardian
URL: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articlei…/p>