President Thabo Mbeki resigns

I must say I sat with bated breath on Saturday afternoon, 20 September 2008 waiting for the fate of the country to be told. At 12:30, Secretary General of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe was to relay the ANC’s decision. It was delayed as President Thabo Mbeki was seeking legal advice at the time. Eventually at 13:00, the screening started.

He said they’ve decided to recall Thabo Mbeki to the ANC and Mr Mbeki agreed to follow. Shoo! This is hectic and at such a volatile time. Or is the timing perfect? I can’t help but feel saddened that he didn’t finish his term and that the work he did over the past years should be tainted with such an ending.


Anyhoo… such is life. Today, President Mbeki addressed the nation at 19:30. I was in awe. I sat there, listened, then rushed off to mosque not forgetting to ask my dad to record the commentary for me. When I returned from mosque. I watched it. Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me. At 12 o’clock I was still glued… until my dad ushered me to bed. A quote from his speech which really stood out for me:

“…gloom and despondency have never defeated adversity. Trying times need courage and resilience. Our strength as a people is not tested during the best of times. As we said before, we should never become despondent because the weather is bad nor should we turn triumphalist because the sun shines.”

It is true hey... in the end it's all about our approach. If you’d like to view a full copy of his speech, see President Thabo Mbeki’s Resignation Speech