South African activist scraps pact to challenge Zuma for presidency

Anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele listen to questions at a news conference in Cape Town, January 28, 2014. Photo courtesy of Reuters

South African activist Mamphela Ramphele has backtracked on a week-old pledge to run for president for the main opposition Democratic Alliance, frustrating the party's push to win more black votes in an election just months away.

A physician, author and former partner of the late activist Steve Biko, Ramphele said last week she would challenge President Jacob Zuma as the DA's candidate, a potential turning point for a party keen to ditch its image as a guardian of white privilege.