ACDP welcomes Mbeki decision

Rev Kenneth Meshoe, MP and Steve Swart, MP


The ACDP welcomes President Thabo Mbeki’s announcement this afternoon to release Deputy President Jacob Zuma from office.

We have consistently called for the resignation of the Deputy President following Judge Hillary Squires’ finding that Schabir Shaik and the Deputy President had a “generally corrupt” relationship.

President Mbeki’s decision is appropriate particularly in view of his commitment to rid the country of corruption. This decision sends a strong message that the President will not only pay lip service to his commitments, but is prepared to act toughly against corruption, despite political pressure.

The ACDP believes that the country stood at the brink of a great moral impasse following the judgment of the Shaik trial, and the calls to protect the Deputy President. The President is to be commended for taking decisive action and not bowing to political pressure that would have undermined the collective morality of the nation.

We trust that this decision also implies that the Deputy President will no longer head the Moral Regeneration Movement.

We continue to call on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute Zuma.