Jacob Zuma, the president of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), has threatened to take legal action against Fikile Mbalula, the head of the ANC administration, unless he reinstates his ANC membership.
This comes after Zuma’s membership was revoked last year after he founded the MKP in December 2023 and removed 15% of the ANC’s support in the national and provincial elections held on May 29, 2024.
Zuma’s decision to form the MKP while demanding to be an ANC member caused the party’s electoral support to plummet from 57% to 40%, forcing it to form a coalition government with the DA and other parties in parliament.
The ANC national disciplinary committee (NDC) then ordered Zuma’s party membership to be cancelled after he was hauled before the committee.
He filed an appeal with the ANC’s national appeals committee, but the appeals committee upheld his sanction.
Unprocedural irregularities
However, Zuma claimed that unprocedural irregularities marred the disciplinary process and used the party’s birthday, January 8, to launch a salvo at Mbalula and issue an ultimatum.
“We are instructed to inform you that the aforesaid expulsion was illegal and/or in breach of both the ANC constitution and/or the constitution of the Republic of South Africa for various grounds,” wrote Zuma’s lawyer, Thabo Kwinana of KMNS Attorneys.
“We are therefore instructed to demand, as we hereby do, that the ANC must take all the necessary steps to ensure that the expulsion ruling is immediately reversed with immediate effect pending proper compliance with the ANC constitution and the constitution of the republic.
“Failure to comply with the above on or before January 31, 2025, will result in our client taking all the legal steps necessary to vindicate, inter alia, his violated rights in respect of all the aforegoing issues, without any further notice to the ANC.”
Zuma believes that the ANC mishandled his disciplinary committee hearing due to a predetermined outcome that was intended to dismiss him.
He claims that the party’s refusal to hold the process in person and in public is one of several procedural errors.
Zuma also complained that the ANC failed to “convene a pre-hearing on mutually convenient dates” or postpone his hearing.
Victimisation of Yengeni
Additionally, Zuma feels that Mbalula’s “intimidating, victimising, and hurling gratuitous insults”, which were directed at ANC veteran Tony Yengeni, his representative at the disciplinary committee hearing, tainted the process.
“The victimisation of Mr Yengeni continues to date with the obvious aim of depriving president Zuma of his rights contained in the ANC constitution and his political rights enshrined in the constitution of South Africa.”
Zuma maintains that he was treated differently than ANC leaders who had previously been associated with the Congress of the People, including former president Thabo Mbeki.
Furthermore, he believes that the ANC made a mistake by not providing him with an explanation for the appeals committee’s decision to reject his appeal of the NDC ruling.
With the letter, Zuma has issued the first warning that his conflict with the current ANC leadership, which he disapproves of, is far from over.
He has also made it clear that he will continue to fight on both the internal and external fronts, as he has been doing since December 16, 2023.
