South Africa’s ruling party, the ANC (African National Congress), has suspended its former leader Jacob Zuma from the party, more than a month after he announced his support for the newly formed uMkhonto Wesizwe party.
uMkhonto we Sizwe was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress and was founded on December 16, 1961 by Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. Its mission was to fight against the South African government
ANC Secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, told journalists on Monday evening at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre, that former party leader Jacob Zuma is “actively impugning the integrity of the ANC” by campaigning to dislodge the organisation from power.
Mbalula said the NEC invoked Rule 25.60 of the party’s constitution to suspend Zuma. He said the rule did not allow him the opportunity to respond to the decision as it was final.
Mbalula said the decision had been made on Sunday evening and ratified by the NEC on Monday morning.
He said that the decision was unanimous and that it had not been a “contentious issue” as even those once aligned with Zuma agreed that he had crossed the line.
Since December 2023, Zuma has campaigned for the newly formed uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party while claiming he would remain an ANC member.
“The NEC concluded that exceptional circumstances exist to justify and warrant an immediate decision to suspend former ANC President JG Zuma.
“The formation of the MK 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 counter-revolutionary agenda.
“It was the sacred ground rule of Umkhonto weSizwe, the glorious People’s Army which all its members were taught, that this army was established to advance the political goals of the ANC. It implemented what the ANC NEC instructed it to do,” said Mbalula.
While announcing his support for the newly formed MK party, details of which are scant, Zuma accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of being an agent of “white monopoly capital” and of being against the progress of black professionals and intellectuals.
“I cannot, and will not, campaign for the ANC of Ramaphosa,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ANC has raised its concerns about the use of the name of the organisation’s disbanded paramilitary wing, Umkhonto weSizwe.
The ruling party is challenging the new party in court, declaring that the name Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) belongs to the ANC.
DM
