How ironic that Mbeki who was chased from the ANC has become its only symbol of hope

AT FIRST, when one commentator suggested that former ANC and state president Thabo Mbeki was the right person to lead the ANC back to glory, the idea seemed laughable.

But then it dawned on me that the ANC has not only lost all credibility, but is void of any human capital to redeem itself and the nation. And with the shameful outcomes of the once-promising Cyril Ramaphosa laid bare, some of the most ardent ANC sympathisers have lost all hope in the party.

The once glorious and broad church that was formed by priests, laity, and royals in a church, has become an indumba of street mobs, with a taxi driver mentality. And by the words of one former ANC Women’s League president, everyone who is anyone is tainted in the ANC, which means nobody can be bold enough to expose someone else unless the justice system is on their side.

So any wishes that the ANC under its current crop of leaders and supporters can self-correct is pure fantasy. How ironic it is today, that the same Mbeki who was chased away by the same ANC like a stray dog, has become the only symbol of hope and restoration for the oldest liberation movement in Africa.

The greatest hint that one day, Julius Malema will lead his fighters back to the ANC, is when he confessed his fears about Mbeki coming back as if it would hurt his own ambitions as a leader of another party. This act also proved that Malema is untrustworthy, and can never stand on his own words, if that would place him at a disadvantage. What has become certain is that the function of Malema’s organisation, the EFF, in the political scope of SA, is simply to balance the field for the ANC and hold the key to this balance.

The political content and behaviour of EFF leaders have no escape from the ANC cadre theory and practice, even as they may differ in regalia and posture.

As a result, even if the EFF were or wanted to create and implement, a new political strategy at any government level, it would always be within the reach of the ANC’s political and military instruments, to destabilise or terminate it.

If Malema can claim to be unaware of this, then either he is blind or in the wrong profession. But what Malema does know is that the prospects of winning a national election and becoming president of South Africa with a two-thirds majority are very slim for both 2024 and the next one.

Also, the ANC knows that a South Africa led by white people in the DA would easily be sabotaged, and the masses mobilised on racial grounds to make South Africa ungovernable.

The best shot for Malema is to humble himself and join Mbeki as an understudy. Malema should learn from the mistakes of Donald Trump who missed political mentorship for power purposes and learned the hard way. Malema’s recklessness and unreliability do not go down well with serious-minded people both locally and internationally, and without a reformation, it will lead him to political humiliation.

But a situation where Mbeki leads the restructuring of the ANC with Malema as his deputy would be bad news for opposition parties and any independent candidates, but will nevertheless save the ANC and South Africa from self-destruction.

The question is, is the old-age ANC, which oversaw the humiliation of Mbeki, and the pride of Malema, able to allow this to happen? If not, then the ANC can prepare for the afterlife, and we look forward to it.