President Jacob Zuma has performed a symbolic sacrifice of a bull outside the Waaihoek Wesleyan Church in Bloemfontein this Saturday morning as part of a cleansing ceremony for the ANC centenary celebrations.

Zimbabwe’s Vice President, Cde Joice Mujuru, is among several heads of state and government attending the ANC’s centenary celebrations.

President Zuma was given the spear by ANC stalwart Andrew Mlangeni, and then performed the symbolic ritual in a makeshift kraal near the church.

The stabbing was left to the "young" who could perform it practically, he said.

"Some of the important remarks I made before the ritual was [about] the importance of the spear. The spear was one of the powerful weapons we used in the wars of resistance," he said.

"This is very symbolic because of the struggle. The apartheid government responded with violence, with burning people and arresting people and finally banning organisations especially the ANC and PAC."

President Zuma then recounted how former ANC leader Albert Luthuli along with the NEC at the time created the ANC's own military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the nation) in order to defend itself.

 "Luthuli said that as an African man, if you are faced with a powerful enemy... you retreat to [your] own home, where there is a spear, which is your last weapon. And once he follows you to your home, you are left with no alternative but to pick up your spear and stab him.

"It has been very symbolic that today, we handed back the spear. Today, the spear is not to go out and fight, but it is to keep peace and protect the nation," he said.

He said the ritual was also a way of speaking to the ancestors, as well as God in a "traditional" way. He said it was also symbolic for the ritual to take place at the church were the ANC was founded in 1912.

"We had to perform these certain rituals before we get into the serious business of celebrations," he said.

Vice President Mujuru is standing in for the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Robert Mugabe, who is on leave in the Far East.

Meanwhile, Cde Mujuru has hailed the strong ties existing between Zimbabwe and South Africa, saying Zimbabwe is fully represented at the ANC’s centenary celebrations in Bloemfontein.

The Zimbabwean delegation will join other invited heads of state and government at a dinner to be hosted this evening by the ANC and South African President, Cde Jacob Zuma.

Speaking ahead of the dinner, Vice President Mujuru said the oldest revolutionary party on the continent was used as a launch-pad for other revolutionary movements across the continent, among which is the Zanu PF of Zimbabwe.

She said the significance of the centenary celebrations lies in the fact that the ANC is still deeply anchored on its liberation values and ideals.