NATURE'S VALLEY, South Africa -- President Thabo Mbeki yesterday fired his deputy president, Jacob Zuma, in a corruption scandal, delivering a pointed message to South Africans as well as foreign donors and investors that Africa must no longer tolerate graft.
Speaking to a special joint session of parliament in Cape Town, Mbeki emphasized that South Africa's 11-year-old democracy will uphold the rule of law, and that not even the popular Zuma -- Mbeki's longtime friend and heir apparent to succeed him as president in 2009 -- was beyond the law's reach.
''I have come to the conclusion that the circumstances dictate that in the interest of the honorable deputy president, the government, our young democratic system, and our country, it would be best to release the honorable Jacob Zuma from his responsibilities as deputy president of the republic and member of the Cabinet," Mbeki said.
The simmering scandal came to a head last week when Zuma's longtime financial adviser and friend, Schabir Shaik, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption and fraud for paying nearly $190,000 in bribes to Zuma. Zuma has not been charged in the case, which was rooted in backdoor dealings to win an arms deal, and Zuma has insisted repeatedly that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
Judge Hilary Squires said during his judgment of Shaik that the evidence of a corrupt relationship between Zuma and Shaik was ''overwhelming."
Still, many South Africans believed that Mbeki would somehow avoid firing Zuma, 63, because of the longtime deputy president's popularity within the ruling African National Congress party. Zuma had won support from the largest labor federation, the party's youth league, and the Communist Party. When Zuma entered parliament on June 8, only six days before Mbeki's speech, he was greeted by supporters who literally sang his praises.
Mbeki's sacking of Zuma prompted some ordinary people to voice admiration and surprise that the nation's leader was willing to make an example of Zuma in his campaign against corruption.
''Now I'm starting to feel like the ANC is building up a track record," said Julian Messina, 35, a carpenter, relaxing at the Tranquility Lodge in Nature's Valley, a coastal resort on the Indian Ocean. ''You can harp on the negative things about South Africa, but things are a thousandfold better than they used to be. This decision entrenches my faith in the country. It shows a will to act decisively, that we want to keep this country clean."
From the time of Shaik's June 2 conviction until Mbeki's speech, Zuma lobbied fiercely behind the scenes to keep his job, including trying to win support from former president Nelson Mandela, who issued no public statement on the matter.
Domestic politics were just part of Mbeki's dilemma. He also grappled with how he would be perceived by the wider world if he was seen to be tolerating corruption within his own government while advocating reform for Africa.
He and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria have been the two most influential voices in Africa saying that the continent's leaders must promote democracy and good governance and fight corruption if the region is ever to lift itself out of poverty and economic stagnation. Obasanjo, in his battle against Nigeria's entrenched system of corruption, has fired several senior government figures, including some who have been sentenced to jail.
Africa's record on corruption will be examined closely next month when the leaders of the richest countries in the world meet in Scotland to discuss future investment in the world's poorest continent.
''This was a very important decision for the international community," said Hussein Solomon, head of University of Pretoria's Center for International Political Studies, who noted that President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain have said that Africa must fight corruption if foreign aid is to dramatically increase. ''I'm usually very critical of Mbeki, but I'm proud of what he did with Zuma. He took a stand and said we will take a stand against what many perceive as rising incidents of corruption here."
Zuma, who was not present during Mbeki's speech, said in a press conference in Cape Town afterward, ''I accept and respect his pronouncement. . . . I do not believe that he thinks I am guilty."
Mbeki said that Zuma must be presumed innocent in the matter. The National Prosecuting Authority, which concluded in 2003 that the case against Zuma was ''unwinnable," said that it was considering a new probe against Zuma following Shaik's conviction.
The dismissal of Zuma leaves Mbeki without a clear successor in the ANC, which dominates South Africa's electoral politics. Zuma remains deputy president of the ruling ANC, and Solomon and other analysts said that Zuma may not be finished as a political force in South Africa.
''His political future cannot be written off," Solomon said. ''He is extremely populist, where Mbeki is more introspective. Zuma is the one with the common touch with the people."
