The ANC is on its way to making the same mistakes it did ahead of its watershed 2007 Polokwane congress, when President Jacob Zuma unseated Thabo Mbeki, former Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has warned.

“This is why I dismiss all of these calls for a judicial commission of inquiry by the SACP, talk about us moving towards a mafia state by the SG of the ANC,” he said.

ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe warned earlier this month that the country would turn into a “mafia state” if the Gupta family kept trying to influence political appointments. His warning came after Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas said the Guptas tried to offer him the job of finance minister shortly before Nhlanhla Nene was fired.

Vavi said the SA Communist Party and Mantashe had to take responsibility for the “mess we are finding ourselves in”.

“Just like I am taking the responsibility for my own role in the run up to 2007.”

Vavi has written 11-pages containing what he said were “total confessions” of what happened at that time.

He questioned why they were expressing shock now.

“It was five, seven years ago when I started to see the trends. We warned against the formations of a hyena state. Why did they condemn, why did they push us out? Why all of a sudden are they finding the political will to raise the voice now in 2016?” Vavi asked.

Vavi said the outrage being expressed by those who used to back Zuma was not about principles, but about factions and how people were going to benefit.

“It’s about who is going to be in the poll to distribute patronage in 2019, and how different factions are positioning themselves to be on the right side of that patronage network. It is not principled.

“We are here because the SACP booted out anybody inside the SACP who dared to question us when we believed so religiously in the Zuma project,” he said.

Vavi had on numerous occasions apologised for his role in supporting Zuma in 2007.