Why Mbeki fell

Mbeki waves bye-bye as Zuma lurks behind

Thabo Mbeki, the man who has ruled South Africa since 1999, has resigned. This follows a call from his party, the ruling African National Congress, ANC, on September 20, for him to step down.

The decision was reached during a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the party. Announcing the decision, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said curtly that the NEC had "decided to recall the President of the republic before his term of office expires." The decision, according to Mantashe, was to "heal the rifts" which have rocked the party recently. This effectively means that Mbeki was impeached just a few months before the end of his term - something which another president of a much bigger country wouldn't see happen to him ;-)

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