

His grip on power could already be slipping. The question is whether the president waited too long to act and whether his actions sent a loud enough message - and whether the moves are too little, too late. The decisive action against both corruption and Malema - a 30-year-old rabble-rouser other ANC leaders have labeled an embarrassment - prove Zuma isn’t taking any chances. It will be the first time Zuma - who ousted predecessor Thabo Mbeki in an internal party coup in 2007 - has actually run for president. 10, of Zuma’s popular main detractor and fellow African National Congress (ANC) party member Julius Malema, leader of the 350,000-strong ANC Youth League, points to the president’s desire to keep his party unified as it prepares for national elections in December 2012.


JOHANNESBURG – When South African President Jacob Zuma fired two cabinet ministers and suspended his police chief in late October, questions swirled as to whether he had finally sent an effective, well-intentioned message to the notoriously corrupt officials of Africa’s largest economy - or whether he was merely using the guise of reform to shore up waning popular support as he prepares for reelection.Īdditionally, the firing on Thursday, Nov.
