The ANC has cut ties with former president Jacob Zuma for defecting to a breakaway party that claims to be the true heir to the party’s armed struggle against apartheid, a bold move that could pose a serious threat to its dominance in KwaZulu-Natal.
“The formation of the MK [Umkhonto we Sizwe] party is not an accident ... It is a deliberate attempt to use the proud history of armed struggle against the apartheid regime to lend credibility to what is a blatantly counterrevolutionary agenda,” ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said at a media conference as he announced the suspension of Zuma.
Read in full: ANC Letter to Jacob Zuma
Zuma has been a thorn in the side of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who forced him to resign as the country’s president in 2018 after almost a decade at the helm amid almost daily revelations of widespread state corruption that hobbled the economy and spawned the term “state capture” in SA.
The 81-year-old, who has the right to appeal against the unanimous decision by the 87-member national executive committee (NEC), has joined and campaigned for the newly formed MK party, named after the ANC’s now defunct military wing, which was disbanded after SA’s liberation struggle. Since Zuma denounced the ANC in December, he has been holding mass rallies in KwaZulu-Natal to garner support for the MK party.
Still, his exit from the ANC after 64 years could have significant implications for the party’s electoral support in KwaZulu-Natal, where Zuma enjoys a loyal base of supporters.
It could also deepen divisions within the ANC in the province, where three councillors in eThekwini are being suspended for defecting to MK.
Mbalula said the ANC suspended Zuma to “cut its losses” because Zuma is seeking to foment social unrest in SA.
“Jacob Zuma worked for peace in KwaZulu-Natal; it would be sad if violence were to erupt in his name,” Mbalula said in response to a question about whether the ANC is concerned about violence in that province and in SA, following reports that religious leaders have threatened to shut down the country if MK does not win a two-thirds majority in the 2024 national elections.
“The JZ party project aims to cast doubt on our entire constitutional democracy. The ANC categorically rejects the dangerous suggestion that our electoral system can and will be manipulated. The independent electoral committee is one of the most trusted public institutions,” Mbalula said, referring to the Electoral Commission of SA.
“The entire voting process and counting process is monitored by party agents from all competing parties and international observers, who have repeatedly declared our elections to be free and fair.”
Zuma was ousted as the country’s president in 2018 amid allegations of his involvement in corruption and wide-scale looting during his nearly decade-long tenure as the country’s president and leader of the ANC. He is standing trial for fraud and racketeering alongside French arms company Thales.
Zuma’s suspension is effective immediately. He has been suspended in line with rule 25 of the ANC constitution, which permits the NEC to suspend members “if justifiable exceptional circumstances warrant an immediate decision of temporary suspension of a member without eliciting the comment or response of such member as contemplated above”.
MK spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela had not replied to queries by the time of publication.
Update: January 29 2024
This story has been updated with new information throughout.
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