About a week ago, Mail & Guardian released six reasons why Jacob Zuma cannot leave the top spot as president. The reasons ranged from local elections to who would replace him, to revolt from the branches, causing a split in the party much like what happened in 2008 when Jacob Zuma got Thabo Mbeki kicked out of office.

The party still hurts, and the ANC are well aware of this.

When the leader steps down of a truly united party, the deputy simply steps up to fill his shoes. But the party is split down the middle, with some siding with Zuma and others not. Things will likely fall apart.

Asked at the Luthuli House press conference on Friday night whether there was unanimity amongst the ANC’s top six earlier in the day about Zuma not resigning (a tweet from Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema said Ramaphosa led a charge for Zuma to go), Gwede Mantashe responded so swiftly that he interjected.

“There was unanimity,” he said. “Malema’s tweets were ‘manufactured stories’.”

This unanimity doesn’t mean all six officials are on the same page in their support for Zuma, but they’re pretty much all aware of the damage a recall can do to the party.

While many thought that after the ruling on Thursday Zuma should resign, they knew that calling for a recall was the same as “calling for the ANC to tear itself apart.”

I would have imagined that you have witnessed our previous experience. So my view is that opposition forces are making that call knowing that it is a call for the ANC to tear itself apart.

This is profound evidence that there is a serious riff that exists in the party – some over a decade old. Back in 2008 it was Malema who led the charge that created momentum for Mbeki’s recall, making him so powerful that he became a fearless critic within the ANC until he was kicked out for going too far.

At a press conference after the Constitutional Court judgment on Thursday, Malema’s narrative was one of “I told you so”. It was the EFF that brought the case to the Constitutional Court and Malema wanted to make it clear that the charge against Zuma was in capable and still-powerful hands.

The ANC, for its part, however, would never want to be seen to be giving in to his or any other opposition party’s demands.

Mantashe gave his view on other parties, too:

Let me explain it further by saying it would be a sick organisation that would take action just because the main opposition party is calling for it, or the EFF is calling for it. There is no party that works that way, because if it works that way there would be no party left.

Mantashe omitted to answer journalists’ questions on whether he still had faith in Zuma, but he did have this to say:

The ANC is convinced that there was no intention on the part of the President and ANC Members of Parliament to deliberately act inconsistently with the Constitution. We have thus noted, welcome and appreciate the apology by the president to the nation this evening.

[source: mg]