JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – President Mbeki of South Africa provoked a full-blown succession crisis yesterday by firing his deputy over links to a corruption scandal.

Mr. Mbeki announced that he was dismissing the man he had groomed to be the country’s leader after he steps down in 2009, Jacob Zuma, “in the best interests of our young democratic system.” Mr. Zuma’s enforced departure followed last week’s sentencing of a financial adviser and business partner, Schabir Shaik, to 15 years in prison.

The judge presiding over the case also ruled that Messrs. Shaik and Zuma had enjoyed what he called a “generally corrupt” relationship.

The dismissal has opened a huge rift in the ANC leadership and risked an upsurge in tension between South Africa’s rival ethnic groups.

Mr. Zuma had not only refused to resign following the court’s finding, but actively lobbied for support around the country. But he told a press conference yesterday that he “accepted and respected” Mr. Mbeki’s decision.

He also offered to resign his parliamentary seat “in the interests of ANC unity,” claiming once again that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. “Let me reiterate that my conscience is clear. I have not committed any crime against the state or the people of South Africa,” he said, adding that he had been “treated extremely unfairly” and “tried by the media.”

The country’s most respected figure, Nelson Mandela, praised Mr. Zuma for his “major contribution” to the struggle against apartheid but also called on the nation to rally behind its current leader, saying that he was right to sack the deputy president.

“While we are naturally deeply saddened that Jacob Zuma, who had made such a contribution to our liberation and democracy, had come to this point in his life and career, we fully support the president in this difficult time in the life of our government, nation, and organization,” he said.

A Zulu, Mr. Zuma is immensely popular within the ANC. A poorly educated farm boy, he made his way up through the movement’s ranks and fought against apartheid. He served 10 years in prison on Robben Island.

Mr. Zuma is seen as an affable, accessible figure, especially compared with the aloof and professorial Mr. Mbeki. Mr. Zuma was credited as the man most responsible for bringing peace to rival groups in KwaZulu-Natal in the post-independence period.

Mr. Mbeki promised to announce Mr. Zuma’s successor soon. Among favorites tipped for the deputy president’s job are the ANC’s national chairman, Mosioua Lekota, and the foreign affairs minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – Mr. Zuma’s former wife.