Editing Thabo Mbeki (section)

==Succession==
[[File:Zuma-court-crowd.jpg|thumb|251x251px|Zuma supporters outside the [[Johannesburg High Court]] during [[Jacob Zuma rape trial|Zuma's rape trial]], May 2006.]]

=== Polokwane conference ===
{{Main|52nd National Conference of the African National Congress}}
In June 2005, Mbeki removed Zuma from his post as national deputy president, after Zuma's associate [[Schabir Shaik]] was [[Schabir Shaik trial|convicted]] of making corrupt payments to Zuma in relation to the 1999 [[South African Arms Deal|Arms Deal]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Vasagar|first=Jeevan|date=2005-06-14|title=Mbeki fires deputy in corruption scandal|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/15/southafrica.jeevanvasagar|access-date=2021-12-24|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref name="sacked">{{cite web|date=14 June 2005|title=Deputy president sacked|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2005-06-14-deputy-president-sacked|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215143844/https://mg.co.za/article/2005-06-14-deputy-president-sacked|archive-date=15 February 2018|work=[[Mail & Guardian]]}}</ref> The [[National Prosecuting Authority]] (NPA) [[Jacob Zuma corruption charges|charged Zuma with corruption]] later that year. However, Zuma remained deputy president of the ANC, and in subsequent years, the rivalry between Zuma and Mbeki and their allies intensified, with Zuma supporters frequently alleging that the charges against Zuma were politically motivated.<ref name="Booysen-2011">{{Citation|last=Booysen|first=Susan|title=Aluta continua, from Polokwane to Mangaung|date=2011|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.18772/12011115423.5|work=The African National Congress and the Regeneration of Political Power|pages=33–84|publisher=Wits University Press|isbn=978-1-86814-542-3|jstor=10.18772/12011115423.5|access-date=2021-12-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gevisser|first=Mark|date=2007-12-12|title=South Africa Grows Up|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/opinion/12gevisser.html|access-date=2021-12-09|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Gevisser-2007">{{Cite book|last=Gevisser|first=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pMJ6AAAAMAAJ|title=Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred|date=2007|publisher=Jonathan Ball|isbn=978-1-86842-301-9|language=en|chapter=Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and the Future of the South African Dream}}</ref>

By 2007, Zuma had emerged as an apparent contender in the ANC's next presidential elections, to be held at the party's [[52nd National Conference of the African National Congress|52nd National Conference]] in [[Polokwane|Polokwane, Limpopo]]. By April of that year, it was also clear that Mbeki intended to stand for a third term as ANC president.<ref name="Gevisser-2007" /><ref>Gevisser, Mark (2007). "Home". ''Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred''. Jonathan Ball. {{ISBN|978-1-86842-301-9}}.</ref> Mbeki's term as national president would expire in 2009, and he had said in 2006 that he had no intention of having the [[Constitution of South Africa|Constitution]] changed to permit him a third term in office, saying, "By the end of 2009, I will have been in a senior position in government for 15 years. I think that's too long."<ref name="mg2006feb06">{{cite web|date=6 February 2006|title=Mbeki quashes third-term whispers|url=http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/&articleid=263355|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060331024244/http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=%2Fbreaking_news%2Fbreaking_news__national%2F&articleid=263355|archive-date=31 March 2006|access-date=2 September 2013|work=Mail & Guardian}}</ref> However, the ANC lacked internal [[term limit]]s, and some suspected that he intended to continue to exert substantial influence over the government through the ANC presidency.<ref name="Gevisser-2007" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Munusamy|first=Ranjeni|date=2012-11-01|title=Polokwane and Mangaung: Shades of difference|url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-11-02-polokwane-and-mangaung-shades-of-difference/|access-date=2021-12-09|website=Daily Maverick|language=en}}</ref>

Zuma drew substantial support from the left wing of the party, especially through the [[African National Congress Youth League|ANC Youth League]] and the ANC's partners in the Tripartite Alliance, the [[South African Communist Party]] and [[Congress of South African Trade Unions|COSATU]], with whom Mbeki's relationship was extremely poor.<ref name="Gevisser-2007"/> At the elective conference, on 18 December, Mbeki lost the presidential election to Zuma, gaining less than 40% of the vote.<ref name="officials">{{cite web|title=Results for the election of ANC officials|url=http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/2007/pr1219.html|url-status=dead|website=ANC|publisher=|accessdate=2008-09-21|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629130037/http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/2007/pr1219.html|archivedate=2008-06-29}}</ref> According to ANC tradition, as ANC president Zuma would become the party's presidential candidate in the [[2009 South African general election|2009 general election]], and therefore, given the ANC's substantial electoral majority, was overwhelmingly likely to succeed Mbeki as national president in 2009.

===High court finding and appeal===
{{Further|Jacob Zuma corruption charges#September 2008: Charges declared unlawful|label1=Jacob Zuma corruption charges § Second indictment}}
On 12 September 2008, [[Pietermaritzburg High Court]] judge [[Christopher Robert Nicholson|Chris Nicholson]] set aside the corruption charges against Zuma. He found that the charges were unlawful on the procedural grounds that the NPA had not given Zuma adequate opportunity to make representations.<ref name="dismiss22">{{cite news|last=Zigomo|first=Muchena|date=11 September 2008|title=South African judge throws out Zuma graft case|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-zuma-idUSLC54653420080912|url-status=live|access-date=27 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129050546/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/africa/2008/09/13/174479/S.-African.htm|archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="BBC News-2008">{{cite news|date=12 September 2008|title=SA court rejects Zuma graft case|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7612233.stm|url-status=live|access-date=15 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512100849/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7612233.stm|archive-date=12 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="Orr-2008">{{cite news|author=Orr|first=James|date=12 September 2008|title=South African court clears way for Zuma presidential run|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/12/southafrica|url-status=live|access-date=15 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902225553/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/12/southafrica|archive-date=2 September 2013}}</ref> Nicholson also lent his support to allegations that Zuma's charges had been politically motivated, saying that he was "not convinced that [Zuma] was incorrect when he averred political meddling in his prosecution" and that the case seemed to be part of "some great political contest or game."<ref name="dismiss22" /><ref name="Orr-2008" /> Mbeki later applied to the Constitutional Court to appeal the judgement, calling Nicholson's findings about political interference "vexatious, scandalous and prejudicial."<ref name="AFP-2008">{{cite web|author=AFP|date=23 September 2008|title=Mbeki challenges court ruling to defend reputation|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwg5P3sBxc05Xyc8vZeZ_g9yzAcA|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514090114/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwg5P3sBxc05Xyc8vZeZ_g9yzAcA|archive-date=14 May 2011|access-date=15 September 2010|website=Google News}}</ref> The NPA also appealed, and in January 2009 the [[Supreme Court of Appeal (South Africa)|Supreme Court of Appeal]] found in its favour and overturned Nicholson's ruling. Partially redeeming Mbeki, the appellate court said that Nicholson's allegations of political interference had been irrelevant to Nicholson's decision and had apparently derived from Nicholson's "own conspiracy theory."<ref name="upholdsndpp2">{{cite news|last1=John|first1=Mark|last2=Kulikov|first2=Yuri|date=12 January 2009|title=Court upholds NDPP appeal in Zuma case|work=[[Mail & Guardian]]|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2009-01-12-zuma-not-off-the-hook|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420072934/https://mg.co.za/article/2009-01-12-zuma-not-off-the-hook|archive-date=20 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="Maughan-2009">{{cite web|last=Maughan|first=Karyn|date=2009-01-12|title=SCA opens the door for new Zuma charges|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/sca-opens-the-door-for-new-zuma-charges-430966|access-date=2022-01-11|website=IOL|language=en}}</ref>

=== Resignation ===
However, shortly after Nicholson delivered his judgement and months before the appeal was heard, the Zuma-aligned ANC National Executive Committee, as elected at the Polokwane conference, "recalled" Mbeki, asking him to resign as national president.<ref name="ioltimeline22">{{cite web|date=15 February 2018|title=A timeline of Jacob Zuma's presidency|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/a-timeline-of-jacob-zumas-presidency-13192711|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213193627/https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/a-timeline-of-jacob-zumas-presidency-13192711|archive-date=13 February 2018|work=[[Independent Online (South Africa)|Independent Online]]}}</ref> The National Executive Committee is a party political body and therefore lacked the constitutional authority to remove Mbeki directly, but the ANC-controlled Parliament could have effected his removal had he not acquiesced voluntarily. On 20 September 2008, a spokesman announced that Mbeki would resign.<ref name="bbc2008-09-20">{{cite news|date=20 September 2008|title=SA's Mbeki says he will step down|work=BBC News|location=London|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/africa/7626646.stm|access-date=21 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Beresford|first=David|date=2008-09-20|title=Mbeki is forced out after split in ANC|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/21/mbeki.resignation|access-date=2022-02-03|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> In court papers filed later that week, Mbeki said that it was Nicholson's findings which had "led to my being recalled by my political party, the ANC – a request I have acceded to as a committed and loyal member of the ANC for the past 52 years."<ref name="AFP-2008" />

In the aftermath of his announcement, at least 11 cabinet ministers and three deputy ministers – including Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka and Minister of Finance [[Trevor Manuel]] – announced that they would also resign.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Percival|first=Jenny|date=2008-09-23|title=Thabo Mbeki ousting sparks wave of political resignations|language=en|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/23/southafrica.mbeki1|access-date=2022-02-03}}</ref> Mbeki's resignation took effect on 25 September, and he was replaced as national president by [[Kgalema Motlanthe]], who had been elected ANC deputy president at the Polokwane conference.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2008-09-25|title=Motlanthe: South Africa's safe hands|language=en-GB|work=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7629239.stm|access-date=2021-12-09}}</ref>