Playing hardball in South Africa

The great Zuma funding mystery : Mail & Guardian Online :

"The Sunday Independent said that an explosive 'top secret' report, titled Special Browse 'Mole' Consolidated Report, alleges that Zuma was bankrolled by Libyan and Angolan leaders to topple President Thabo Mbeki."

"Politics," said Mr. Dooley over a hundred years ago, "ain't beanbag." And, that's still true today. But the latest political news from South Africa has a delicious touch of irony.

The deputy president of the African National Congress is counting on South African law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of smear campaign which seems designed to derail his bid to oust South African president Thabo Mbeki from the leadership of their party later this year.

Meanwhile, police have determined that a claim by Mr. Zuma's supporters that a former member of the South African Defense Forces had been offered a million Rand to assassinate him was a hoax designed to gain sympathy for his candidacy. Police have a beach bum in custody who posed as the assassin and have raided the home of a member of Mr. Zuma's inner circle in pursuit of evidence as to the origins of the "plot."

Gee! I thought the 60 Minutes flap over Bush's national guard records was a bit juvenile, but that pales in comparison to this nonsense coming from what is supposed to be the most advanced nation on the African continent.