FORMER South African President Jacob Zuma has been expelled from the African National Congress (ANC), a party he has been affiliated with for many decades. The public broadcaster SABC reported the expulsion on Sunday, highlighting a significant development in South African politics.
Zuma, 82, who has been a loyal member of the ANC for 60 years, was found guilty of founding and campaigning for the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party. This new party managed to secure 58 seats in the May parliamentary elections. The SABC reported that it has documents confirming Zuma’s expulsion, although the ANC has yet to release an official statement.
The ANC’s National Disciplinary Committee found that Zuma had compromised the party’s integrity by collaborating with uMkhonto weSizwe, actions that were deemed contrary to the ANC’s aims, policies, and objectives. Zuma, who served as South Africa’s president for nearly a decade and was also a former president of the ANC, played a pivotal role in the party that has governed the country since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Historically, the ANC has secured more than 60 percent of the vote in all elections since 1994, except in 2019 when its share dipped to 57.5 percent. However, in the most recent elections, the ANC lost its parliamentary majority, securing only 40 percent of the vote and 159 out of 400 parliamentary seats. This forced the party to form a coalition with nine other political parties to establish a government of national unity.
The expulsion follows Zuma’s suspension from the ANC in January, a move seen by many as a sign of the growing rift between him and the current President Cyril Ramaphosa. Zuma now has 21 days to appeal the judgment with the ANC’s National Committee of Appeal.
This dramatic shift in Zuma’s political career marks a critical moment for the ANC and South African politics, reflecting deeper divisions within the ruling party and potentially reshaping the country’s political landscape.
