JOHANNESBURG: The funeral of celebrated South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada on Wednesday was transformed into a rally against President Jacob Zuma, who had been barred from the event.
The family of the African National Congress (ANC) stalwart, one of Nelson Mandela’s closest colleagues in the struggle against white minority rule who died on Tuesday aged 87, had asked Zuma to stay away.
It was however attended by vice president Cyril Ramaphosa, cabinet ministers and all of the country’s living post-apartheid former presidents.
South Africa was thrown into political turmoil on Monday when Zuma ordered the respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to return early from an overseas investor trip, fuelling speculation that he was preparing to replace him with a loyalist.
The move sent the rand tanking and renewed investor fears that the country could be about to enter a period of economic and political uncertainty.
In a fiery eulogy, former president Kgalema Motlanthe said Kathrada was “deeply disturbed by the current post-apartheid failure of politics”.
“He found current leadership wanting on many fronts… and would not hesitate to call for the resignation of the president of the country with whom the buck stops,” said Motlanthe. After his retirement from politics in 1999, Kathrada kept a low profile, but in recent years had spoken out against corruption and failings in the ruling ANC. He openly criticised the current government of Zuma, which has been accused of corruption, mismanagement and of failing to transform the lives of black South Africans. Quoting from a letter Kathrada wrote to Zuma a year ago calling for him to stand down, Motlanthe received long and thunderous applause from mourners — including serving ministers. Agencies
