Death threats and a headless cat sent to Zuma’s rivals
SOUTH AFRICA: Senior figures in the African National Congress claim to have learnt that they are on ‘‘hitlists’’ as tensions grow over President Zuma’s government.
One head of a trade union also said he found a headless cat in his garden after his group threatened to break its alliance with the ANC in protest at Zuma’s leadership. A leader of the Communist Party, which is also in alliance with the ANC but recently denounced Zuma over the cabinet reshuffle that damaged South Africa’s economy, said a man pointed a gun at him at a political event.
Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president, and Lindiwe Sisulu, the human settlements minister, are believed to be plotting to challenge Zuma for the leadership and have claimed that they were among those earmarked for assassination on a list circulated in the intelligence community.
Other MPs who have spoken out against the president and his allies have said that they received death threats by text message and by phone. Mmusi Maimane, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, appeared at a rally recently wearing a flak jacket after ‘‘credible’’ death threats towards him and his family.
President Zuma, who took office in 2009, has become unpopular after a corruption scandal in which he was forced to pay back public funds that he had used to refurbish his mansion.
Rampant corruption among public officials and surging poverty and crime levels have also made him unpalatable to many South Africans. His tenure comes to an end in 2019 but many opposition, religious and civic leaders have called for him to step down early.
The Communist Party believes a rogue intelligence unit is operating inside the official government agency. It argues the unit is pursuing those perceived to be enemies of the president, either with or without official backing.
Accusations of death threats are part of wider concerns about Zuma’s embattled administration. There have been claims his government has appropriated part of the police, intelligence and judicial institutions and that Zuma has installed his own officials who, while showing little ability or experience, demonstrate unquestionable loyalty.
Zuma has claimed in recent months that he is the target of a foreign assassination plot and that his enemies have made three attempts to poison him. At the weekend the president told a rally that a ‘‘foreign government’’ was seeking to overthrow him, adding: ‘‘I know things, let me tell you, there are outside governments who want to control South Africa.’’
The ANC is concerned by allegations of death threats but has not admitted wrongdoing. Zuma’s spokesman did not respond to requests for a comment.
— The Times