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Former South African president repeats call for Jacob Zuma to step down

South African President Jacob Zuma - EPA/NIC BOTHMA/POOL
South African President Jacob Zuma - EPA/NIC BOTHMA/POOL

A former South African president received a standing ovation at the funeral of an anti-apartheid hero on Wednesday after repeating a call for President Jacob Zuma to step down.

Kgalema Motlanthe, 67, who served as South Africa’s head of state for nine months in 2008 and 2009, read a letter by the late Ahmed Kathrada, 87, pleading with the scandal-prone Mr Zuma to put the country’s interests before his own.

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Anti-apartheid stalwart Ahmed Kathrada during the funeral of Kathrada - Credit: AFP
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Anti-apartheid stalwart Ahmed Kathrada during the funeral of Kathrada Credit: AFP

Mr Zuma, 74, did not attend Mr Kathrada’s funeral at the Westpark cemetery in Johannesburg, saying earlier he would respect the family’s request for him not to attend.

“In the face of such persistently widespread criticism, condemnation and demand, is it asking too much to express the hope that you will choose the correct way that is gaining momentum, to consider stepping down,” Mr Motlanthe quoted  from the letter.

A member of former South African military wing Mkhonto We Sizwe carries the portrait of Anti-apartheid stalwart Ahmed Kathrada during the funeral - Credit: AFP
A member of former South African military wing Mkhonto We Sizwe carries the portrait of Anti-apartheid stalwart Ahmed Kathrada during the funeral Credit: AFP

Mr Kathrada, who died on Tuesday morning after being admitted for surgery linked to blood clotting on the brain, and South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela, were part of a group sentenced to life imprisonment after the historic Rivonia trial in 1964.

He was released from prison in 1989, months before Mr Mandela himself was freed in February 1990.

Nelson Mandela - Credit: EPA
Nelson Mandela Credit: EPA

The funeral was attended by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who led the government delegation in Mr Zuma's place and senior members of the ruling African National Congress who included Mandela's ex wife Winnie Mandela, 80, and Zuma's ex wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, 68.

Mr Kathrada wrote the letter in April last year, after South Africa's highest court found that Mr Zuma, who is facing the reinstatement of 783 corruption charges linked to arms deal nearly two decades ago, had violated his oath of office by refusing to abide by an order to pay back some of the millions of dollars in public money spent on upgrading his rural home.

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