Mbeki hits campaign trail for ANC but reiterates call for party to 'renew itself'

JOHANNESBURG - Former African National Congress (ANC) president Thabo Mbeki has told Soweto residents that rooting out rotten apples within the party remained his priority.

He was speaking to dozens of community members at the Jabulani Mall, where he joined the party on the election campaign trail on Thursday.

One of the former president's major concerns is the lack of credible leaders in the organisation and its failure to fulfil its promises.

Mbeki used the Xhosa word "amasela" to describe what he said were thieves at the helm of the governing party.

In May last year, he told Eyewitness News that he was skeptical about encouraging South Africans to vote for the ANC, citing the organisations failure to attend to its issues.

He said that while his concerns still stood, the only way people could trust the ANC brand was if it thoroughly polished itself.

"The ANC must renew itself because of what is not right in the ANC. So, I have never changed my mind about this, it was correct."

With Soweto being an ANC stronghold, Mbeki has urged community members not to give up on the party.