CAPE TOWN, South Africa—A mild-mannered anti-apartheid activist on Thursday became the third president of South Africa since the end of white rule, vowing to foster unity in a country shaken by a power feud between its past and future leaders.

Kgalema Motlanthe is widely seen as a caretaker president until next year’s elections, when African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma is expected to take the helm.

In the meantime, Motlanthe faces an uphill struggle to restore the nation’s battered international standing and regroup the government after a mass walkout in solidarity with President Thabo Mbeki, who was ousted last weekend.

“We live in challenging times. We see before us many mountains that are yet to be climbed, and numerous rivers that still need to be crossed,” Motlanthe, 59, told parliament.

Zuma, 66, watched from the sidelines. The erstwhile guerrilla leader was not eligible for the presidency because he was not a legislator. Zuma, the ANC presidential candidate next year, will likely win in a landslide, given the ruling party’s huge majority.

This is despite him having been accused of corruption in an arms deal scandal and having stood trial on charges that he raped the HIV-positive daughter of a friend. Zuma was acquitted of rape but could face trial on corruption charges.

Motlanthe, the ANC deputy president, said the government would continue its assault on poverty, unemployment and crime—all areas in which Mbeki is accused of failing.

“We will not allow the stability of our democratic order to be compromised,” Motlanthe insisted.

Motlanthe is one of the few figures in the ANC leadership to have weathered the past year’s vicious political battle with friends in the camps of both Zuma and Mbeki, though he has remained loyal to Zuma.

Born in Johannesburg, he was a fighter in the ANC’s underground military wing in the apartheid era and was jailed for 10 years with Nelson Mandela and Zuma. He later became the National Union of Mineworkers’ secretary-general.

Motlanthe’s first task was to replace Cabinet ministers who quit. He said highly respected Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, whose rumored departure caused the stock market to plummet Tuesday, would remain in office.

Motlanthe named inexperienced politicians to take over the key portfolios of security and justice—in a country where the police struggle to cope with a murder rate of more than 50 a day.

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, notorious for her mistrust of AIDS medicines and promotion of garlic and beetroot as remedies, was shifted to minister in the presidency, a move welcomed by health activists and the medical profession.

South Africa has an estimated 5.4 million people infected with the AIDS virus, the highest number in the world, and Mbeki and his ally Tshabalala-Msimang were long criticized for playing down the scale of the disaster.

AIDS activists said they were throwing a party to celebrate in front of Parliament on Thursday night.

The festive mood at Parliament was in marked contrast to the tumultuous week. ANC lawmakers sang anti-apartheid anthems and a police jazz band played.

Motlanthe was elected by parliament with 269 votes, far ahead of the 50 votes garnered by the main opposition party’s nominee. There were 41 spoiled ballots.

Mbeki, who replaced Mandela as president nine years ago and was months away from completing two terms, did not attend.

“This is a coup! Shame on the ANC power mongers!” said Mzoxolo Sume, a security guard who braved a cold drizzle to protest outside Parliament.

He was joined by a few dozen chanting and dancing women. One shouted “We are very angry that they took out Thabo for no reason.”

The ANC, urged on by Zuma’s leftist allies, ordered Mbeki to quit Saturday after a judge threw out a corruption case against Zuma on technical grounds and said Zuma may have been a victim of Mbeki’s political machinations.









Mbeki’s was the top mediator for Zimbabwe and persuaded President Robert Mugabe to share power with rival Morgan Tsvangirai earlier this month. But talks on sharing Cabinet positions are stalled, with the opposition accusing Mugabe of wanting to retain control.

Mugabe, who has ruled for 28 years, Thursday questioned the morality of Mbeki’s ouster.

“There is a man who has been in the seat for so many years ... and democracy in one stroke pulls him down,” Mugabe said in an interview with The AP at the United Nations. “Democracy without morality is no democracy for all.”

Although the ANC says it wants Mbeki to continue mediating in Zimbabwe, he no longer has the clout of a head of state. And his chief mediator, Sydney Mufamadi, was among the ministers who quit.

During his speech Thursday, Motlanthe sought to assure South Africa and the world that there was no reason to fear instability in Africa’s economic and diplomatic power house.

“We are here to assure all those on our continent and in the world that we will continue to meet our international obligations,” he said.