No duty to defend JZ, says Gwede
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe yesterday condemned the "unconditional defending" of President Jacob Zuma.The ANC women's and youth leagues, and the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans' Association, have all defended Zuma following calls for his removal over the Nkandla saga.Speaking in Boksburg at an event marking the 23rd anniversary of the death of SACP general secretary Chris Hani, Mantashe called for the ANC to be defended, not Zuma."There is no duty in the ANC to defend and protect Zuma alone. Members must defend the organisation and Zuma must take refuge in the organisation," Mantashe said.He said the relentless defending of Zuma only served to weaken him further."Once you isolate him and say he must be defended you're even inviting an attack on him," Mantashe warned.Chaplains condemned calls for Zuma to resign, and said the nation should accept his apology for the "frustration and confusion" caused by the Nkandla debacle.But Naledi Pandor, an ANC NEC member, said that Hani would "be horrified to learn that his organisation has corruption as part of the exercise of political office by some within it"...
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