In his first public address since his arrest for defying a Constitutional Court order, former ANC president Jacob Zuma derided those who regarded him as old and gave a clear indication he would seek political comeback.
Brimming with confidence, Zuma said outside the Pietermaritzburg high court that he was a “free man”, and if assigned work by the ANC he would have no hesitation in taking up the offer to serve again.
There was a strong security presence at the gathering, held shortly after court proceedings in his private prosecution case against prosecutor Billy Downer and News24 journalist Karyn Maughan on Monday.
Zuma took to a mobile stage soon after the case was postponed to December to tell the cheering crowd at the court precinct: “We are here today in an unusual way, we are used to being here if I am appearing in court facing charges. But we are here because I have laid charges against the prosecutor, the one who prosecutes me.”
He told the crowd that a prosecutor should not be friendly with journalists to the extent that they speak about court matters and that he “had had enough”.
“Now that I am free, I am ready for anything, because it is clear it that the struggle is not over ... I took an oath to serve the people, and if I am assigned by the ANC, I will do it.”
Zuma hit out at comments by senior ANC leaders about his age.
“I spoke briefly a couple of days ago and am going to talk and nothing will stop me from doing so, now that I am a free man... I have heard some people saying I am old, but I am not,” said Zuma, who turned 80 in April.
On Friday, Zuma’s home branch (Msholozi) in Nkandla nominated him for the position of national chair in the ANC’s December election. Members there also supported co-operative governance & traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as their presidential candidate.
Zuma’s 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court ended on Friday. He was sentenced after he failed to comply with the Constitutional Court ruling to appear before the state capture commission of inquiry.
The Supreme Court of Appeal is still to rule on a high court judgment that Zuma’s medical parole, sanctioned by former prisons boss Arthur Fraser, was illegal.
The gathering, though a lot smaller than the thousands who turned up to Zuma’s court trials in 2017, cheered when he began to sing and dance.
He was flanked on stage by daughter Duduzile, former SAA chair Dudu Myeni and ANC provincial top brass, including chair Siboniso Duma, deputy chair Nomagugu Simelane and treasurer Ntuthuko Mahlaba.
Unlike the Nkandla branch, the provincial ANC has endorsed former health minister Zweli Mkhize for ANC president, shunning Zuma’s favourite, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. The province’s key branches also indicated that they wanted younger leaders to serve in the ANC’s executive after the December conference.
At the same rally, Duma explained why the ANC provincial leadership was by Zuma’s side despite not endorsing his choice in Dlamini Zuma. “The provincial executive resolution was that there must always be support for Zuma. He is one of our own. He is a stalwart of the ANC at all times when he appears in court. It is the right thing to do. Today is a historic day because he is the one who was advancing on private prosecution.”
Political analyst Prof Bheki Mngomezulu said Zuma is still an influential leader and an individual in the ANC in the province, and now has the energy and freedom to go anywhere without fear of breaching his parole conditions.
“He does have sympathy from many in the province and the country. But standing for chairperson of the party after having served as the president is a risk and could hurt the support he has among leaders and the rank and file in the ANC.”
Mngomezulu cautioned that the ANC in the province should be mindful that, with their support for Mkhize and Zuma’s support for Dlamini-Zuma, and others in the province who support current president Cyril Ramaphosa, they are now going into the December conference divided.
“The province does not want to come back from the conference empty-handed like it did in 2017, when it supported more than one candidate.”
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