Political Unrest in South Africa

Recently in South Africa murder and the mafia have been linked to the police commissioner, adding fuel to the power battle for the African National Congress. The power struggles and corruption scandals became all the more illuminated when an industrialist with heavy political ties is gunned down by the mob. The complication comes in when ties between the mafia and the national police commissioner arise. Then, the warrant for his arrest disappears and the chief prosecutor who secured it is fired, all while President Thabo Mbeki stays silent.
Most experts believe that this stems from a political battle for control of the African National Congress between President Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, his competitor. Adding even more complications to this battle is the fact that in 2005 Zuma was fired from his deputy president position under Mbeki after he was tied to a multi-billion dollar military contract bribery scandal. Now instead of firing someone linked to corruption, Mbeki has intervened in the prosecution of Jackie Selebi, the commissioner and also president of Interpol. The Selebi scandal arose with the assassination of a Johannesburg mining magnate at the hands f Glenn Agliotti, a reputed mafia official. Phone records were found between Agliotti and Selebi on the day of the murder, just after it occurred. Mbeki refused to prosecute so Vusi Pikoli, the nation's chief prosecutor, secured two warrants including one for the arrest of Selebi. They were never enforced because Mbeki's justice minister demanded for the resignation and then the suspension of Pikoli. Mbeki is now having Pikoli investigated for prosecutorial excess. With elections for the party's next leader two months away it is predicted the power struggle will only get worse as Mbeki and Zuma both vie for power.