From Mbeki to Motlanthe

Stories

11 Stories

April 2009
- Record Turnout Predicted as South Africa Votes
  
  Mail & Guardian (South Africa) | Apr 22, 09 6:22 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The polls have opened in South Africa's general election, with a record 23 million citizens expected to vote today. Jacob Zuma is all but guaranteed to become the country's next president, though strengthened opposition parties and voter frustration at corruption and crime have created the toughest challenge for his African National Congress since 1994, reports the Mail & Guardian . More »
January 2009
- Court Reinstates Corruption Case Against Zuma
  
  Mail & Guardian (South Africa) | Jan 12, 09 5:43 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Jacob Zuma, the leader of the African National Congress and the likely next president of South Africa, once again faces corruption charges after the country's top appeals court reinstated 16 counts of fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion today. The court reversed a bombshell ruling from last September that threw out the charges and ultimately led to the resignation of his rival, former president Thabo Mbeki, reports the Mail & Guardian . More »
December 2008
- ANC Defectors Launch New South African Party
  
  BBC | Dec 16, 08 2:59 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A former defense minister is the first head of a new South African political party made up mainly of defectors from the African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela, the BBC reports. Called Congress of the People, or COPE, the movement spearheaded by Mosiuoa Lekota formed around dissatisfaction with the ANC’s ouster of President Thabo Mbeki. More »
November 2008
- Mbeki AIDS Denial Killed 365K in South Africa
  
  New York Times | Nov 26, 08 6:54 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - South Africa's failure to provide antiretroviral drugs to AIDS patients has cost 365,000 lives, a new Harvard study finds. The report places the blame for the deaths with ousted president Thabo Mbeki, whose denial of AIDS' viral cause led Africa's richest country to ignore its sick citizens while other southern African nations provided medicine, the New York Times reports. More »
- S. Africa's Ruling Party Splits
  
  New York Times | Nov 3, 08 9:22 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The African National Congress has run South Africa essentially unchallenged since the fall of apartheid, but that may have changed forever this weekend as 6,400 delegates gathered to celebrate the birth of a new opposition party. A chunk of lawmakers loyal to Thabo Mbeki is breaking way from the ANC, forming a party with the potential to break the stranglehold, the New York Times reports. More »
October 2008
- Schism Brewing in South Africa's Ruling Party
  
  Guardian (UK) | Oct 8, 08 10:55 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Thabo Mbeki’s top officials are planning to break away from the party that deposed him, the Guardian reports. Mosiuoa Lekota, who spent nearly a decade as Mbeki’s defense minister, today announced a conference that he sees as a step on the path to “divorce” from the African National Congress. “This is probably the parting of the ways,” Lekota said, accusing ANC leadership of “eliminating our internal democracy.” More »
September 2008
- Interim Prez Takes Reins in South Africa
  
  BBC | Sep 25, 08 11:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Kgalema Motlanthe was sworn in as South Africa’s caretaker president today after winning three-quarters of a parliamentary ballot, the BBC reports. The left-leaning intellectual is seen as someone who can ease rifts between supporters of Jacob Zuma, head of the African National Congress party head, and former President Thabo Mbeki. More »
- South Africa in Crisis as Cabinet Walks Out With Mbeki
  
  Associated Press | Sep 23, 08 8:00 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Most of South Africa's cabinet, including the powerful and respected finance minister, resigned today following the ouster of President Thabo Mbeki over the weekend. The walkout could be a devastating blow to the economic stability of Africa's most powerful nation, and to the new administration expected to take over on Thursday, reports the AP. The 10 departing ministers also include those responsible for mediating the Zimbabwe crisis and planning the 2010 World Cup. More »
- Zuma Loyalist Will Become South African President
  
  Reuters | Sep 22, 08 8:34 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The African National Congress has chosen Kgalema Motlanthe, a moderate intellectual and the ruling party's No. 2, to be South Africa's caretaker president, Reuters reports. He will fill the job vacated by Thabo Mbeki, who resigned this weekend after the party demanded he step down. Motlanthe is a loyalist of Jacob Zuma, the head of the ANC, and could be confirmed as president as soon as today. More »
- More on Motlanthe
  
  Guardian (UK) | Sep 22, 08
  
  Although Kgalema Motlanthe has been named as South Africa's caretaker president, his rule could run beyond next year's elections. He is understood to be favoured by Jacob Zuma to become his deputy should Zuma become president.
- Mbeki Will Resign in S. Africa
  
  Associated Press | Sep 20, 08 9:03 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - South African President Thabo Mbeki has agreed to resign following orders from the ruling party. A statement from the presidency says that Mbeki, who succeeded Nelson Mandela in 1999, will "step down after all constitutional requirements have been met." Parliament is due to meet in the coming days to formalize the resignation procedure and is likely to appoint the parliamentary speaker as acting head of state. More »