Mbalula's 2009 open letter to former president Thabo Mbeki

By Ddr - 16 February 2016

This is what Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula said about former president Thabo Mbeki in 2009, in an open letter.

When spy allegations were levelled at Bulelani Ngcuka, then National Director of Public Prosecutions, you were swift in your appointment of the Heffer Commission to probe those allegations as an attempt to protect him;

When the infamous off-the-record briefings conducted by Bulelani Ngcuka came to light, where Ngcuka is alleged to have made libellous remarks about Jacob Zuma, who was the Deputy President of the Republic at the time, you conveniently turned a blind eye and failed to act;

When Bulelani Ngcuka, flanked by then Minister of Justice, Pennuel Maduna addressed a media briefing wherein he suggested that Cde Zuma had a case to answer, but he will not prosecute him, you once again conveniently failed to act on what was a blatant violation of Cde Zuma’s rights;

You then proceeded to appoint Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as Deputy President of the Republic as a reward to the loyalty of the Ngcukas;

When the Public Protector pronounced on the violation of Cde Zuma’s rights, his findings were met with scorn, and again, no action was forthcoming on your part;

When the National Intelligence Agency expressed alarm about the unlawful activities of the Scorpions, once again you did nothing;

When the Browse Mole report came to light, which was produced by the Scorpions, you were quick to dismiss it as work of counter-revolutionary forces, and proceeded to ignore the recommendations of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence. In an interesting twist or irony, McCarthy, who was the head of the DSO at the time was rewarded with a

handsome golden handshake and a recommendation for a high ranking job with the World Bank, at a time when he and those who were responsible for the Browse Mole report should have been under investigation;

You did not hesitate to destroy a relationship that spanned decades between yourself and Billy Masetlha when he raised concerns about the allegedly hoax emails that were making rounds, and you defined your relationship with him as irretrievable.

You continued to protect Jackie Selebi, the National Police Commissioner and did not hesitate to suspend Vusi Pikoli, the National Director of Public Prosecutions when he sought to arrest Selebi, for reasons known only to yourself;

You dismissed Cde Zuma, then Deputy President of the Republic, on the basis of inferences in the Shabir Shaik trial. Interestingly, you were quick to cry foul when Justice Nicholson made far reaching findings in his judgements and drew inferences on your perceived interference with due processes of law;

You failed to take the nation into confidence and confirm that you were the author of the now famous letter to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on the arms deal, a letter which was a central piece of evidence at the Shaik trial;

You conducted briefings to ANC structures, religious community, opposition parties (particularly the DA) on how corrupt Cde Zuma was, in an attempt to garner public support and sympathy, and whereby you arrogated yourself the role of being a judge in Cde Zuma’s persecution;

You were highly implicated as a central player in the compilation of a dossier which sought to defame Cde Zuma in the run-up to Polokwane, which was distributed among ANC delegates at conference;

You failed to engage the leadership of the ANC in a face to face engagement, and you reduced your relationship with Cde Zuma to an exchange of letters, whose contents you leaked to Terror Lekota;

You flatly refused to campaign for the ANC, despite your assertion that you remain a loyal member of the ANC, and demanded that a letter be written to you in this regard. It was the first time ever that a cadre of the ANC had to be written a letter in order for them to campaign for the ANC. Not even Mandela ever made such a demand on the ANC. Such practice is foreign to the tried and tested traditions of the ANC and can best be described as anti-ANC;

It is therefore my considered view that you left the state apparatus in absolute disarray and the state machinery completely paralysed.

It is equally interesting that you believe the Inspector-General will save the day in what has become public humiliation of Ngcuka and McCarthy. The fundamental question that must preoccupy the Inspector-General is not how the tapes found their way to the ANC President’s lawyers, but rather how deep did this conspiracy ran and to ensure that relevant organs of state act swiftly to bring the perpetrators to book.

What happened to the values of the ANC, which at some point in your political career embodies and taught others? What happened to the ethos that says the ANC is bigger than all of us, we are but humble servants of this revolutionary movement? What happened to the pursuit of the founding ideals of the ANC, which the giants of our revolution who include Cdes Langalibalele Dube, Sol Plaatjie, Walter Sisulu, Moses Kotane, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela and many others personified?

There remains little doubt that the establishment of COPE has your blessings and you continue to encourage them to swear by your name because you do not believe that the ANC can advance the age of hope under the stewardship of Cde Zuma, and that it will survive without you.

I doubt if today you were president, this conspiracy that has come to light would have been uncovered.

Fikile Mbalula

HEAD OF ORGANISING AND CAMPAIGNS AND MEMBER OF THE ANC

NEC AND NWC

Writing in his personal capacity

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Mbalula's 2009 open letter to former president Thabo Mbeki

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