Edward Zuma courts more controversy with about-turn on apology to ANC leaders

President Jacob Zuma’s controversial son‚ Edward‚ has made a dramatic u-turn about his apology to senior African National Congress leaders Pravin Gordhan and Derek Hanekom‚ saying he did not apologise to them but to the party.

Edward’s about-turn came just a day after his father decried ANC MPs who voted with the opposition in last week’s motion of no confidence in the president.

Although the voting was done by secret ballot‚ Zuma singled out Hanekom for being implicated in voting to oust him. He told an event organised by the ANC Youth League in uPhongolo in northern KwaZulu-Natal that it was shocking that even the chairman of the ANC disciplinary committee [Hanekom] was implicated.

Edward Zuma on Monday issued a point of clarity on his apology: “I wish to state and place it on record that I only apologised to the ANC and not any individual on [sic] my open letters and it remains like that.”

He went on to say the clarification was issued “in my personal capacity and not as an ANC member nor as Jacob Zuma’s son".

He did not respond to a request to furnish further clarity on whether this meant that he did not withdraw his vitriolic letter against former finance minister Gordhan and former tourism minister Hanekom.

Edward’s about-turn is contrary to his apology letter to the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal in which he asked for forgiveness and said it was “never my intention to offend anyone by expressing my view on the current political landscape".

He had defied provincial ANC leaders and refused to retract the letter for almost a week. He only apologised after being threatened with disciplinary action.