Hibapress
Former South African President Jacob Zuma was officially expelled on Sunday from the ruling African National Congress (ANC), a party of which he was a member for 60 years.
The decision was made and announced in a statement by the party’s National Disciplinary Committee (NDC), which found Zuma guilty of two counts of misconduct and of undermining the integrity of Nelson Mandela’s party.
The charges relate to the former President’s announcement on 16 December 2023 that he would not campaign or vote for the ANC in the national and provincial elections held on 29 May.
Zuma was also accused of creating a new political party called uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), named after the former military wing of the ANC.
“The accused member expelled from the ANC has the right to appeal to the National Disciplinary Committee within 21 days,” the NDC said in delivering its verdict.
In response, MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said they did not consider the findings of the ANC’s national disciplinary committee to be a decision because Zuma’s legal team had not been made aware of it. “At this stage we have seen a document that is circulating and it would be very disappointing if that is the authentic documentation reflecting the real decision,” he said.
Zuma is the second heavyweight of the radical economic transformation movement to be expelled from the ANC. Former secretary-general Ace Magashule was also expelled for allegedly embezzling money from a government contract worth more than $13 million when he was premier of the Free State province before rising to the ANC’s top administrative office.
In the recent legislative elections, the African National Congress lost its majority in parliament for the first time in 30 years, winning only 40% of the votes cast. Weakened in this election, the ANC was forced to form alliances with other political parties to form a government of national unity.
Nelson Mandela’s party, which won 159 seats in parliament, was followed by the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) with 21.80% of the vote (87 seats), Zuma’s MK party with 14.59% (58 seats) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 9.52% (39 seats).
