The African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa has taken the decision to suspend former President Jacob Zuma.
This move comes in the wake of Zuma publicly endorsing a different political party in anticipation of the upcoming general election later this year.
“Zuma and others whose conduct is in conflict with our values and principles will find themselves outside the African National Congress,” ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said on Monday.
The anticipated decision, signaling disunity within the movement, adds to the challenges the ANC faces in the upcoming general election, where a decline in its longstanding dominance is expected.
Jacob Zuma, the fourth president of democratic South Africa, held office from 2009 to 2018 but stepped down amid corruption allegations, leading to his estrangement from the party he previously led.
In a significant development in December, Zuma announced his intention to campaign for a new party, uMkhonto We Sizwe (MK), also known as the Spear of the Nation, drawing inspiration from the ANC’s former armed wing during the anti-apartheid struggle.
Mbalula said that in addition to suspending Zuma, the ANC could complain to the electoral court to get the new party deregistered and mount a trademark challenge to recapture the name.
“The formation of MK party is not an accident,” Mbalula declared after a meeting with the party’s National Executive Committee, attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“It is a deliberate attempt to use the proud history of the armed struggle against the apartheid regime to lend credibility to what is a blatantly counterrevolutionary agenda.”
According to a South African Broadcasting Corporation news report, Zuma has 48 hours to respond to the suspension.
