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We didn’t leak Zuma letter to media‚ Mbeki’s office says

Former President Thabo Mbeki chose to walk to the a voting station on Oxford Road. PHOTO: Mdu Ndzingi
Former President Thabo Mbeki chose to walk to the a voting station on Oxford Road. PHOTO: Mdu Ndzingi

The office of former president Thabo Mbeki has distanced itself from the leaking of a letter written to President Jacob Zuma.

In the letter‚ Mbeki tries to persuade Zuma to consider the views of African National Congress (ANC) veterans.

“The letter was copied to ANC secretary-general‚ Mr Gwede Mantashe‚ as well as Mr Mongane Wally Serote‚ the latter in his capacity as chairperson of the veterans initiative.

 “The letters to president Zuma and SG Mantashe were hand-delivered to the latter at Luthuli House on the same day‚ after (former) president Mbeki had spoken to Mr Mantashe to inform him that the letters would be hand delivered to him.

“Regrettably‚ the letter was subsequently leaked to the media by persons we do not know‚ which then published it during the morning of November 3‚” said Mbeki’s office.

Zuma‚ during a recent address in KwaZulu-Natal‚ suggested that the letter was not meant for him as it was leaked.

But the Mbeki Foundation insisted that the letter was meant for Zuma.

“The letter was intended for president Zuma and the leadership of the ANC‚ not for public distribution. If it had been intended for such distribution as an ‘open letter’‚ there would have been no need to ensure its secure delivery directly to the ANC SG at Luthuli House‚” said Mbeki.

He cautioned Zuma that he “should focus on the contents of the letter with the requisite seriousness”. – TMG Digital

 

 

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