6

Crushing the Scorpions

South Africa’s political calendar in 2007 was dominated by the build-
up to the ANC’s watershed elective conference in Polokwane in
December.
As the year came to an end, commentators and analysts tried to take a
reading of the political winds swirling around the main power blocs led
by Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. On the surface, neither leader
seemed to be getting much love from Magashule’s Free State ANC.
One news report described how Magashule had ‘mastered the art of
fence-sitting’ by not openly throwing his weight behind either Zuma or
Mbeki.^1 Considering the snubs that he had endured under previous
presidents, his cautious approach is perhaps understandable.
Mbeki had an obvious disadvantage. As president, he had already
denied Magashule the Free State premiership. But Zuma had also
played a role in blocking Magashule’s appointment. When he served as
deputy president under Mbeki, Zuma was one of the national leaders in
favour of ‘banishing’ Magashule to Cape Town in the late 1990 s to try
to quash the faction-fighting in the Free State. ‘Zuma himself said that
Ace needed to go to Parliament to help the Free State ANC survive,’
said Marshoff.
A former ally confirmed that Magashule was not a fan of either Zuma
or Mbeki. ‘Mbeki had already disappointed him, but he was not sure if
he could trust Zuma,’ said this source.
While Magashule made up his mind about whom he would support,
the ANC in the Free State remained fractured, and threatened to