Johannesburg: A Right winger group planned to assassinate South African President Jacob Zuma at the recent party meeting of the ruling African National Congress, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
"The assassination plan by the Right wingers was supposed to be two-staged," reported the Star newspaper, citing the document and the confession statement from the Bloemfontein Magistrate`s Court.
On Sunday evening, the Free State police announced that four suspects had been arrested in connection with a plot to attack the ANC`s 53rd National Congress. They were brought to the Bloemfontein Magistrate`s Court in the Free State province Monday and charged with one count of high treason and one count of conspiracy to engage in a terrorist activity.
"At the first stage, the right wingers intended to attack Zuma, who is also the state president, and then-deputy-president Motlanthe, who is still the state deputy president, with mortar bombs as they were dinning at the 53rd ANC National Conference on Sunday," said the Free State prosecutor Shaun Abrahams at the court.
The prosecutor said that if the first stage plan failed the plotters would launch the second-phase plan by invading the dining hall and killing Zuma with assault rifles, such as AK-47s.
"These right wingers were in possession of a sketch plan to execute the plan, including photographs of the conference venue, dining hall and entrance and exit points," the prosecutor added.
The electoral commission at the 53rd ANC National Conference Tuesday announced that President Zuma won an overwhelming majority of votes to retain his position as the ANC president.
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