South Africa's political turmoil has been engineered by the efforts of fringe elements in the ANC - not the body politic, but by the alliance partners - Cosatu, the SACP and the verbose ANC Youth League.

South Africa's political turmoil has been engineered by the efforts of fringe elements in the ANC - not the body politic, but by the alliance partners - Cosatu, the SACP and the verbose ANC Youth League.

Will Jacob Zuma's role in government be dictated by these fringe elements or are they now central to the whole ANC?

Under normal circumstances, Zuma could well have been an acceptable president, but unless he is exonerated by a credible judicial process, a cloud of suspicion will continue to hang over the high office that he is designated to occupy.

Judge Chris Nicholson's ruling has not removed the pending charges of corruption, tax evasion, defeating the ends of justice, money laundering etc. He declared the process invalid, but stated clearly that he was not giving a ruling over the guilt or otherwise on the charges that had been laid against Zuma.

The real tragedy is that there are too many clouds of uncertainty hanging over high-profile politicians at present. The book by former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein is very revealing. Is that the image we wish to project internationally in the run-up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup?

Valentin Volker Pietermaritzburg