SACP will ‘definitely not’ support Zuma outside court

THE South African Communist Party will not support former president Jacob Zuma outside the high court in Durban tomorrow.

This was confirmed by Transport Minister and SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande yesterday outside the house of the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

“Definitely not” was Nzimande’s first and curt response.

Zuma is set to make his first court appearance on charges of corruption‚ money laundering and racketeering relating to the controversial multimillion-rand arms deal.

The SACP supported Zuma outside the high court in Pietermaritzburg in 2006 when he first appeared on similar charges. It was a “long story” why things had changed. “At that time we were really convinced there was serious abuse of state institutions to fight and settle internal scores‚” Nzimande said.

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule previously announced that the party would not support Zuma in his upcoming trial‚ but that members could do so as long as they did not wear the party’s regalia.

Nzimande called Madikizela-Mandela’s death a loss to the nation.

“She did all that was supposed to be done‚ despite some of the brutal methods used by the apartheid regime to try and break her.”

He believes the ANC can be unified in the aftermath of her death.

“In her name we shall deepen our efforts to unite the ANC as well as to unite the alliance‚ and use her as that symbol of the unity of our movement.”