The Thabo Mbeki Foundation says that neither it nor the office of former president Thabo Mbeki have received invitations to attend ANC events leading up to the 2019 national elections.

The foundation was responding to a statement by ANC spokesman Pule Mabe to the effect that “former presidents will start attending party events leading up to the 2019 elections”.

Mabe is reported to have said this during the ANC election workshop held at a hotel near Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday which was attended by former president Jacob Zuma.

“The Thabo Mbeki Foundation would like to advise members [of] the press that at this present moment‚ neither the Office of Former President Mbeki nor the Thabo Mbeki Foundation have received any invitation in this regard including to attend the Elections Workshop in question‚” the foundation said.