Of course Mbeki failed to take the opportunity - his agenda was letting his poorest constituents simply die, in part because of awesome pressure applied by Big Pharma, financiers and employees.
That means that ACT UP's solidarity was all the more important - and often called upon against Mbeki and his health minister. Mbeki's longest lasting legacy will be his AIDS denialism, a source of constant international humiliation for him, entirely because of courageous local and global AIDS activists.
Don't forget how stigmatised the disease is... and do respect the activist comrades who've done such good work in this area. (Not perfect, of course: their fear of linking to water/electricity struggles reflects the activists' continuing ties to the ANC government and fear of being seen with 'ultraleft' social movements like the Anti-Privatisation Forum, but hopefully that is a temporary strategic problem, not a principled difference.)