ANC leadership to formally ask Zuma to step down
THE ANC’s top leadership were expected to formally ask President Jacob Zuma to step down yesterday, just days before he is due to deliver the state of the nation address (Sona), which he insists on doing.
It is expected that he will agree to leave soon, but only after delivering Sona, which he believes he is constitutionally bound to.
Zuma’s insistence on delivering Sona could cause a constitutional crisis, as opposition parties have told National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete that they will approach a court to ask for an interdict stopping the opening of Parliament, the first such action in the country’s history.
ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule said yesterday that the party’s top six officials will go into the momentous meeting with Zuma today with “no conditions”, because there is no set agenda to remove him from office.
This is the first formal one with all six officials since the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) mandated them in January to “engage” with Zuma on the “transition”, a byword for his early exit.
Despite indications that Zuma refused to heed calls to step down until now, a close associate said this was only because he was waiting for a formal approach from the party’s leadership.
It’s understood that Zuma agreed to the meeting after a Magashule-led delegation visited him earlier last week.
The swift convening of the do-or-die meeting signals that interactions between Zuma and ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa to defuse tensions between Luthuli House and the Union Buildings have not made significant progress, hastening the call for Zuma’s downfall.
Magashule said that the top six were not going into the meeting with Zuma “with an attitude that says the president is going or not going. We are not going to go there with an attitude. There is no step aside or do not step aside,” he said.
However, his colleague in the top six, treasurergeneral Paul Mashatile said in a television interview that there were tensions and that it would be ideal if Zuma were to step aside, to allow for one centre of power.
A special sitting of the NEC will be convened if Zuma and the officials do not come to an agreement.
But those close to Zuma say he may not need to be forced, because as a “deployee of the ANC”, the president is likely to accede to a request to step down, if he is asked officially to do so.
They said that up to now, nobody has officially asked him to resign. His children have, however, previously made the proposal, in light of widespread anti-Zuma sentiment and allegations of corruption.
“He is waiting for the ANC. I don’t think he will say no to the ANC. He is on record that if the ANC no longer wants him, he will resign. If he insists on staying, whose deployee will he be?” said a close Zuma ally.
The Zuma ally said despite the fact that business, opposition parties and the media had been talking about his exit, he would only listen to the ANC.
“Why must he listen to anybody other than the party that elected him into this position?”
The associate said Zuma felt strongly that it was his constitutional duty to deliver Sona. “Government systems demand that he does, otherwise government will collapse.
“He convenes Sona. We have not seen anything in the law that says he can delegate that responsibility to anyone else. He already gave notice to the speaker in October to convene this meeting. Sona and the budget must be presented, otherwise government will not be able to function. Sona must happen, even if it’s a Sona with disruptions,” said the associate.
Six opposition parties have written to Mbete, telling her to accede to the request for the postponement of Sona until the impeachment regulations are finalised.
This follows a meeting of leaders of the DA, United Democratic Movement (UDM), Congress of the People, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), African Christian Democratic Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party on Friday. They agreed to present a united front on the matter.
Mbete has agreed to the EFF’s request to debate a vote of no confidence in Zuma on February 22, the day after the budget speech.
In their letter, the parties warn that if they do not get an “urgent and positive response” to their request for a postponement by the end of business today, they will be left with no option but to consider approaching an appropriate court on an urgent basis for an order interdicting the Sona.— Sapa NAIROBI — Kenyan police on Saturday briefly detained another key government critic over his alleged involvement in the recent mock inauguration of opposition leader Raila Odinga as the “people’s president”, the third such arrest within four days.
Police said they arrested George Aladwa at his home early on Saturday morning, before releasing him several hours later after questioning.
Aladwa is accused of helping to organise the January 30 symbolic swearing-in in Nairobi in front of tens of thousands of supporters, in a fresh challenge to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election last year.
Police said Aladwa, who was arrested at his home on Saturday morning, was also being questioned over his role in a shooting Wednesday at the home of Odinga’s running-mate, Kalonzo Musyoka.
“Aladwa is being investigated over what happened at Kalonzo’s home. He is also being questioned over the chaos in (Nairobi) where he mobilised youths,” police spokesman Charles Owino said.
Kenyatta’s victory in a re-run vote in October has sparked deadly clashes and polarised the country.
The government has denounced Odinga for trying to “overthrow” Kenyatta, while the opposition claims the election process was rigged and the result illegitimate.
At least 92 people have died in recent months, with most protesters killed at the hands of security forces, according to rights groups.
Aladwa’s detention follows the separate arrests this week of opposition firebrand Miguna Miguna and of lawyer TJ Kajwang for their alleged key roles in Odinga’s swearing-in.
The government also blocked three major TV channels to stop them from broadcasting the Tuesday’s “swearing-in”.
The stations remained off air Saturday despite a court order issued Thursday to end the suspensions.
Police have also ignored a judge’s ruling to release Miguna ahead of his court appearance scheduled today.
“Tension is building up and it is just a matter of time before it explodes,” the Daily Nation newspaper wrote in an editorial Saturday.
“It is absurd that Mr Odinga and his coalition members have chosen the path of confrontation... but the government’s reaction is equally revolting,” according to the paper.
The United Nations and the US have denounced the Kenyan government’s crackdown.
But Odinga’s inauguration has also alienated him from the international community, with Western diplomats saying they were not in contact with him.
International calls for dialogue between the two sides have for months been ignored by both the government and opposition.