What is also interesting is that Mbeki chose such a sensitive event of a high-ranking ANC leader of Duarte's stature, to launch a blatant attack on a sitting president Cyril Ramaphosa who is also the leader of his party, the ANC.
Up until this stage, it appeared that Mbeki was an ally of Ramaphosa.
Some including Mbeki may argue that the support is still there.
And Mbeki's utterances were in fact 'warning' more than they were 'attacks'.
Needless to say, it raises another question; had Duarte's memorial service not occurred, would Mbeki have seen the need to speak his mind on the state of Ramaphosa's leadership qualities, or even the lack thereof?
It is difficult to say.
Even more profoundly, was Mbeki waiting for such an event, where he could be sure that the 'Who's Who in the ANC will be present and the media spotlight has gone on an all-out attack, just in case there was scandal or scene that could break out at the memorial service.
Either way, it is interesting if not troubling for Mbeki to have waited for a memorial service to air his strong views on the matter which Mbeki has described as 'do or die for South Africa's 28-year-old democracy.
“One of my fears is that one of these days, we’re going to have our version of the Arab Spring,” Mbeki said.
From this, it would be hard to accuse Mbeki of a total assault on Ramaphosa's presidency.
But from when he criticized Ramaphosa for not fulfilling a promise to present a social compact to South Africans within 100 days, although this was the truth, was the memorial service the right platform for this comment? Ramaphosa made the promise during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February this year and Thabo Mbeki has since said his speech has been taken out of context.
And Mbeki was widely criticized for saying Ramaphosa failed to deliver on a social compact within 100 days, as promised in his State of the Nation address in February 2022.
But what can be read from all these developments is that Mbeki could be plotting a political comeback to return to the presidency. Or even worse for Ramaphosa, Mbeki could have indicated that he is shifting sides and ready to join forces with his friend and comrade from exile in the mold of Jacob Zuma.
But here's the thing, Mbeki chose to stay clear of the Phala Phala farm saga, or 'Farmgate' as it is now called by others. WHY? It could be argued that it would be inappropriate for a former president to comment on allegations that have yet to be tested in court.
But under the ANC's 'step aside' policy, you would think that the least Mbeki could have done was to ask Ramaphosa to practice what he preaches, just like what the ANC's SG Ace Magashule did. But nothing from Mbeki on this front.
It makes one wonder if Mbeki's speech at Duarte's memorial service was engineered by Ramaphosa and Mbeki to divert public attention from 'Farmgate'.
This would certainly buy Ramaphosa some time to cook up another 'Public relations; stunt to get the public paying attention to other 'critical emergencies' like a 'looming' 'Arab Spring' in South Africa.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, the wise have claimed.
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