The "tea meeting" between Julius Malema and Jacob Zuma has been long in the making, preceded by a series of discussions between the EFF leader and staunch Zuma supporters such as Mzwandile Masina and Andile Lungisa.
People with intimate knowledge of the encounter at Zuma's Nkandla home on Friday indicated that it had been brokered by, among others, Masina - mayor of Ekurhuleni - and Lungisa - a former ANC city councillor in Nelson Mandela Bay - over several weeks. Preparations included a visit to Malema's Johannesburg home by the two men last Sunday.
The meeting was initially portrayed as a spontaneous event following a Twitter request by Malema, which Zuma promptly acceded to, but now evidence has emerged that there was a long build-up.
Sources familiar with the matter said the Zuma-Malema talks were part of a strategy being pursued by "progressive forces" led by an ANC faction opposed to the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The "tea" meeting was also attended by ANC national executive committee member Tony Yengeni, who is in the anti-Ramaphosa camp, and advocate Dali Mpofu, the former national chair of the EFF.
The Nkandla gathering took place during a week in which Zuma announced he would defy a Constitutional Court ruling that ordered him to appear before and respond to questions put by the state capture inquiry headed by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo. Zuma dared Zondo to order his arrest.
Those close to the discussions on Friday said Zuma's guests spoke of the serious legal implications of his defiance of the Zondo commission and asked him to reconsider.
"We went there to explain the constitution and the implication of him not going to the commission," said one insider, who asked to remain anonymous.
"He explained where he was coming from. We don't know if we were able to convince him. We must wait, we can't say, 'Yes, he agreed with us,' " the source said.
"But it is not such good news. He still said he's not going. He sees this thing [the Zondo commission] as a political ploy."
Masina has declined to comment on the matter while Lungisa said: "We will engage the former president to go [before the commission] because we want to expose its bias."
EFF spokesman Vuyani Pambo also put a tight lid on the discussions.
"The EFF is not going to participate in an unending speculation game around a meeting with the former president that has been explicitly made clear was nothing more than a meeting over tea."
At least 39 witnesses who have appeared before the Zondo commission have implicated Zuma in serious state capture scandals, including the siphoning off of millions of rands from the State Security Agency for his benefit and the collapse of key state institutions and state-owned firms.
His tea party guests sought to persuade him that he should testify at the commission and in so doing turn the tables on Ramaphosa by accusing him of involvement in state capture during his tenure as deputy president from 2014 to 2018.
We went there to explain the constitution and the implication of him not going to the [Zondo] commission
— Insider
Another source quoted Malema as telling Zuma to resist the temptation to behave like "typical African leaders" who undermined the rule of law.
A sceptical EFF insider said Malema was just being a shrewd tactician by exploiting the situation, because it was to his party's advantage that the ANC should be divided.
An ANC NEC member who is a Ramaphosa supporter said members of this faction were aware that Zuma allies had been holding private meetings with Malema.
"I suspect they have found common ground because Mzwandile, Julius and Andile have been meeting," this person said.
"It's broad issues, it is a realignment of forces. We don't know what shape it will eventually take."
Another Ramaphosa supporter said the tea meeting was not a cause for concern.
"That's his personal meeting with the EFF and it has got nothing to do with the ANC," this source said.
This person said Ramaphosa allies would raise Zuma's public defiance of the Constitutional Court judgment at a meeting of the NEC scheduled for this Saturday.
He said their view was the former president had brought the party into disrepute. "I think it has to be raised, it is quite concerning that he would want to go this way."
Zuma's spokesperson, Vukile Mathebula, has declined to divulge what the former head of state and Malema discussed.
"The young man wanted to have tea with an elder and the elder said 'yes', then they had tea. That is all."
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.