The saying that ‘what goes around comes around’ seems to be true at least in South Africa if reports emanating from the country is true. The imminent departure of President Jacob Zuma from power is merely a step away.
President Zuma played a prominent role in the exit of former President Thabo Mbeki who resigned about 9 months to the end of his tenure after he was recalled by the National Executive Committee of the ANC.
Zuma is about to bite the dust as the president of South Africa in a similar fashion to the treatment he meted out to Mbeki.
Zuma initially defied a decision by top leaders of the African National Congress that he should quit, but his exit seemed imminent when parliament on Tuesday postponed the annual state-of-the-nation address just two days before he was due to deliver it.
The leader of the ANC and South Africa Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday said talks about a leadership transition were continuing and would be finalized in a matter of days, leaving the nation in political limbo.
The National Prosecuting Authority is due to decide within weeks whether Zuma will face multiple charges of bribery and corruption related to an arms deal in the 1990s. A commission of inquiry is also due to probe allegations he allowed his friends, the Gupta family, to influence government appointments and the awarding of state contracts.
Zuma is believed to be negotiating a soft land that will prevent him from facing prosecution on the 18 charges levelled against him. Ramaphosa told the party’s MPs on Thursday that he was not negotiating any deal to protect Zuma from prosecution over corruption.
