STUART THEOBALD: Truth must finally out on the reason for Zuma putting his political future at risk
The biggest unanswered question about President Jacob Zuma’s actions last week is, why the awkward timing? What was so urgent that he had to embarrass SA by demanding the return of the finance minister in the middle of a series of meetings with international investors? To the ANC and South African Communist Party (SACP) leadership, he cited an intelligence report alleging the minister was consorting with international investors to achieve regime change, a claim so utterly devoid of logic, it collapses on its own lack of merit. That intelligence report convinced no one, though clearly the president must have hoped it would at least create some doubt. It was a rather desperate ploy. What, then, was the real reason? It can only be that the president was under serious pressure to act. He would have been well aware of the political capital he was putting on the line, so whatever he needed to achieve was very important and urgent.We do know that at the same time, the Guptas were facing se...
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