Mbeki bows to resignation pressure

South African President Thabo Mbeki will accept a call to resign by the governing African National Congress (ANC), his spokesman has said. Mukoni Ratshitanga said Mbeki would leave his post once “all constitutional requirements have been met,” the BBC stated.It comes days after a High Court judge suggested that Mbeki may have interfered in a corruption case against his rival, ANC leader Jacob Zuma. Zuma was expected to succeed Mbeki in scheduled elections next year.Parliament is expected to meet in the coming days to formalize the resignation, and is likely to appoint the parliamentary speaker as interim leader. The decision to call for Mbeki’s early resignation was taken at a meeting of the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC).The ANC’s Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said the move had followed “a long and difficult discussion”. He said Mbeki, who has ruled for more than a decade, “did not display shock” at the decision and had agreed to participate “in the process and the formalities”.The decision had been taken for “stability and for a peaceful and prosperous South Africa”, Mantashe told a news conference.  The ANC secretary general said this was not punishment for Mbeki, adding that the president would be given the chance to continue his role as mediator in Zimbabwe. At the same time, ANC cabinet members are being urged to remain in government to ensure continued stability.

Political interference
This dramatic decision will fundamentally change South Africa’s political landscape, the BBC’s Peter Biles in Pretoria said.  Mbeki fired Zuma as deputy president in 2005 after his financial adviser was found guilty of soliciting a bribe on his behalf. But Zuma returned to the political stage to topple his rival as ANC leader in bitterly contested elections last year. Earlier this month a High Court judge dismissed corruption and other charges against Zuma, saying there was evidence of political interference in the investigation.

Ceasefire in troubled Niger Delta

Insurgent groups in the troubled Niger Delta area have announced a ceasefire after weeks of sustained mortar attacks on oil facilities. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta held a meeting with some Ijaw leaders – Chief Edwin Clerk, Senator Brigidi – among others to reach the truce.The ceasefire also coincided with the World Peace Day celebration observed worldwide on the September 21 every year. Professor Barineme Fakae of the Rivers State university of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, who was also kidnapped a week ago was released last Friday and dumped at the Kai waterside. It is not known if any ransom was paid for his release because the kidnappers had earlier requested 500 million naira – 4,249,171US Dollars.MEND spokesman Gbomo Jomo said it will stop further attacks at a time of victory over the military and expressed the hope that it has learnt its lessons. It urged them not to start other unprovoked attacks as the consequent would be ferocious. He said in the wake of the unprovoked attack on them, it attacked over six oil and gas facilities belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company and Chevron since 13 September and has now decided to downgrade the oil war code-named ‘Hurricane Barbarrosa’ for a new alert code-named ‘Tropical Storm Vigilant’.Spokesman for the Joint Military Task Force [JTF], Lieutenant Colonel Saqir Musa, described the ceasefire as a good measure for MEND, Niger Delta region, the nation and the international community.Musa said he holds the promised ceasefire in great doubt as it could be a ploy to distract attention or a measure to buy time to recover from the loss they have incurred from the week long exchange of gun battle.He said that the military is well disposed to amicable resolution of the crisis and would continue to monitor situation on ground to ascertain the truth of MEND’s ceasefire.JTF had attacked MEND bases and seven Tombia communities in the wake of the attack on their officers who were on patrol of the sea route which was said to have triggered the ‘oil war’ attacks.

South Africa: Train rams into sex makers

A train crushed into a couple having wild sex on a railway track in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, police said. The goods train rammed into the love makers after persistent warning from the driver for them to stop for him to park.Spokesman Abie Khoabane said it took place on Friday evening and the victims were yet to be identified, the BBC reported. He told local newspapers that the couple ignored the driver’s shouts as he moved the train into the disused station in Kinross town. “They continued with their business,” he told the Sowetan paper.According to South Africa’s Beeld newspaper, the area was deserted with no cars or houses nearby. The man died at the scene and the woman died later at hospital, the Sowetan reports. The police have appealed for those with missing relatives to come forward to help with their investigation.