The former president says he will remain a member of the ANC but will do whatever it takes to save the party.(Photo by Guillem Sartorio / AFP)
Former president Jacob Zuma has thrown his weight and his vote behind the newly-formed “MK party”. Drastic measures, he says, are needed to save the ruling party — of which he insists he will remain a member until he dies.
In an incendiary press briefing in Soweto, Zuma laid out his credentials as a member of the ANC and uMkhonto we Sizwe, the party’s former armed wing. He said the ANC had failed the people, singling out President Cyril Ramaphosa for his role in the Phala Phala scandal and blaming him for the country’s load-shedding. The South African Reserve Bank exonerated Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in the scandal in August.
With Zuma apparently unwell, his daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, sitting at his side, read out his speech at the media briefing hosted by the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans’ Association.
“It has become clear that this organisation is no longer the organisation we grew up knowing,” he said in the statement. “It is for this very reason that those of us who will never forsake or abandon the ANC, feel it necessary that we undertake a process to rescue the ANC from the wrong hands, bring it back to the people and restore its former glory.
“After much reflection, it truly saddens me that the ANC of today is not the once great movement that we loved and were prepared to lay down our lives for. Due to infiltration and failure of leadership, the ANC has been reduced to an organisation that is hardly respected by those that it swore to liberate, serve and protect.”
Zuma said something “more bold, creative and dramatic” needs to be done by those who love the real ANC.
“We need to rescue the ANC and bring it back to the organisation that we know, love and trust. This requires drastic action,” he said.
“The ANC of Ramaphosa has plunged the country into darkness with load-shedding which has ruined the economy. This could have been easily avoided by keeping the best management which successfully prevented load shedding and adopting nuclear energy many years ago.
In 2018, Ramaphosa assumed the presidency after Zuma, who initially defied order by his party to resign or face recall over a slew of corruption allegations, did so on the eve of a no-confidence vote in parliament.
Three years later Zuma was jailed for contempt of court after refusing to appear at the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture – set up to investigate allegations of state capture during his presidency. In addition, the former president’s Arms Deal corruption case has been dragging on for almost two decades largely because of his “Stalingrad” tactics. The case dates back to 2007, when charges were brought against Zuma for accepting bribes, through his financial adviser Schabir Shaik, from French arms manufacturer Thales.
Zuma said some ANC leaders had asked him to campaign for the party in the 2024 elections but he had decided: “I cannot and will not campaign for the ANC of Ramaphosa in 2024. My conscience will not allow me to lie to the people of South Africa and to pretend that the ANC of Ramaphosa is the ANC of Luthuli, Tambo and Mandela. It is not the ANC that I joined and went to jail for.
“I therefore wish to announce that in 2024, I will vote for the Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK) Party. It has already been registered with the IEC [Electoral Commission of South Africa] with my knowledge and blessings.”
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula has already indicated that his party will take legal action against the new formation.
Zuma called on all South Africans to join him in voting for the MK Party “and any other progressive party which seeks total liberation and the return of our land to its rightful owners, the African people”.
“The single aim is to steer the ship of total liberation from colonialism back on course by uniting Africans across the country, the African continent and the African diaspora behind the battle for land, justice and radical transformation towards economic freedom. There can never be reconciliation without socio-economic justice and equality,” Zuma said.
He added that “the new people’s war starts from today”.
“The only crucial difference is that instead of the bullet, this time we will use the ballot. [There is] once again no alternative but to pick up the spear of the nation, Umkhonto We Sizwe, in defence of our people and in pursuit of a peaceful revolution for a radical change. The status quo cannot be allowed to prevail or to get even worse…”
Zuma said the MK Party would be formally launched and its interim leadership announced in early 2024.
“Due to the toxic atmosphere caused by our captured media, judiciary and the other arms of the state, it was necessary to conduct these discussions underground. We will soon be ready to share the details with the nation.”