Why Lindiwe Mazibuko backs Cyril

Former DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko says she hopes Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will be elected to lead the ANC - foiling President Jacob Zuma's plans to avoid jail time by getting his former wife into the nation's top job.

Speaking in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Mazibuko said it would be better for Ramaphosa to win the presidency of the party at its conference in December rather than Zuma's preferred candidate, his ex-wife and former AU commission chairman, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

"It is not a life-and-death issue for Ramaphosa but it is for Jacob Zuma if, like Schabir Shaik before him, he lands up in court and is prosecuted for the 783 charges he faces," Mazibuko told delegates.

 She said ANC insiders had told her that, unless Zuma was convinced that he would get his way over the election of Dlamini-Zuma, the chances of the ANC hosting its elective conference on schedule were slim.

"Zuma loses sleep about the internal [matters] of the ANC that will facilitate the transition that will keep him out of jail. That's his number one concern," she said.