FORMER president Thabo Mbeki will not attend the lecture in his honour in Aliwal North, Eastern Cape, tomorrow.
The lecture, which will be delivered by his successor, President Jacob Zuma, forms part of a series of ANC centenary lectures on the lives of past presidents of the organisation.
Sowetan understands that Mbeki will be in Brazil to attend a United Nations conference - he is head of the UN panel trying to stem the flow of illicit funds.
Mbeki has informed the ruling party that he had other planned engagements.
ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu yesterday said that, as with all other lectures, the party had been inviting the families of the past leaders to the events, and that the same applied to Mbeki.
"We do have four family members working with us here already and one of them will speak on Friday," he said.
Mbeki was appointed to the UN position in May, and he already knew that his centenary lecture would be in November.
Last month was dedicated to the late ANC leader Oliver Tambo.
The lectures started in January, with most attended by family members.
Mbeki and former president Nelson Mandela, apart from Zuma, are the only surviving ANC leaders. Mandela, however, could not attend his lecture in Limpopo in July but was represented by his wife Graça Machel and granddaughter Ndileka, who delivered a speech on his behalf.
Mbeki's lecture follows his scathing attack on the ANC leadership last month in Eastern Cape. At the lecture, he raised some concerns, saying he did not know how to "respond to what is obviously a dangerous and unacceptable situation of directionless and unguided national drift" of the country.
The rivalry between Mbeki and Zuma culminated in a bruising leadership battle, which placed Zuma at the helm of the ruling party in Polokwane in 2007.
After his recall as president of the country in 2008, Mbeki had stayed away from commenting on domestic politics until recently when he commented on the Marikana tragedy that left 34 mineworkers dead, and how the country was losing its image under the current leadership.
The ANC in Gauteng also hosted an event in Johannesburg last Saturday to celebrate Mbeki's life.
Mbeki skips Zuma's lecture in his honour
FORMER president Thabo Mbeki will not attend the lecture in his honour in Aliwal North, Eastern Cape, tomorrow.
The lecture, which will be delivered by his successor, President Jacob Zuma, forms part of a series of ANC centenary lectures on the lives of past presidents of the organisation.
Sowetan understands that Mbeki will be in Brazil to attend a United Nations conference - he is head of the UN panel trying to stem the flow of illicit funds.
Mbeki has informed the ruling party that he had other planned engagements.
ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu yesterday said that, as with all other lectures, the party had been inviting the families of the past leaders to the events, and that the same applied to Mbeki.
"We do have four family members working with us here already and one of them will speak on Friday," he said.
Mbeki was appointed to the UN position in May, and he already knew that his centenary lecture would be in November.
Last month was dedicated to the late ANC leader Oliver Tambo.
The lectures started in January, with most attended by family members.
Mbeki and former president Nelson Mandela, apart from Zuma, are the only surviving ANC leaders. Mandela, however, could not attend his lecture in Limpopo in July but was represented by his wife Graça Machel and granddaughter Ndileka, who delivered a speech on his behalf.
Mbeki's lecture follows his scathing attack on the ANC leadership last month in Eastern Cape. At the lecture, he raised some concerns, saying he did not know how to "respond to what is obviously a dangerous and unacceptable situation of directionless and unguided national drift" of the country.
The rivalry between Mbeki and Zuma culminated in a bruising leadership battle, which placed Zuma at the helm of the ruling party in Polokwane in 2007.
After his recall as president of the country in 2008, Mbeki had stayed away from commenting on domestic politics until recently when he commented on the Marikana tragedy that left 34 mineworkers dead, and how the country was losing its image under the current leadership.
The ANC in Gauteng also hosted an event in Johannesburg last Saturday to celebrate Mbeki's life.