Ever since President Thabo Mbeki took over from the much more famous Nelson Mandela in 1999, he has always seemed firmly in command. He maintained a normal Government with no radical policies, unlike many of the other Governments nearby that had thrown off a colonial yoke (in the case of South Africa, it was the overthrowing of the apartheid regime). Even when he was bitterly criticized for his absolutely anti-science AIDS position and a few other policies that seemed a bit out of whack, he never seemed fallible. And yet, in a matter of a few months, he has fallen so hard that his career seems all over, destroyed from within the party. It was only last year that he lost the leadership of his party, losing the position to ANC President Jacob Zuma:

Eleven South African ministers have resigned as President Thabo Mbeki prepares to leave office, the government announced Tuesday. Mbeki’s successor — most likely African National Congress deputy president, Kgalema Motlanthe — will be sworn into office on Thursday. Three deputy ministers have also tendered their resignations, a government statement said.

Earlier this month, the ANC asked Mbeki to step down after a judge threw out the corruption, fraud and racketeering case against Zuma, calling it invalid and accusing Mbeki’s government of political interference in the case. Critics of Mbeki alleged he pushed for the corruption charges against Zuma. The case against Zuma — who replaced Mbeki as ANC president last year — was thrown out in September 2006, but the National Prosecuting Authority recharged him.

However, inspite of all the polite words, the parting has been bitter. The ANC, the party to which President Mbeki belonged to, itself asked him to step down; in effect accusing him of pushing the case (and influencing) against the ANC President Zuma. The only consolation for President Mbeki is that his supporters are with him, and are resigning.