On the 16th of December 2023, former president Jacob Zuma announced at a press conference by the newly formed political party uMkhonto weSizwe (the name of the former armed wing of the ANC and commonly referred to as as MK) that he will not vote for the “current ANC”.
Zuma has although said that he will remain an ANC member, he cannot by (principle) vote and campaign for an ANC (of Ramaphosa) that is a proxy of White Monopoly capital. He said: “My conscience will not allow me to lie to the people of South Africa”.
He also criticised the party of having failing leadership and also blamed Ramaphosa’s government of economic mismanagement as seen with the current loadshedding in the country. He also lashed out against the party for expelling members who were found to have taken part of corruption saying “The ANC I know was never focused more on expelling members without implementing proper processes to establish if such action was appropriate.”
The South African election is to be held between May and August 2024 and the ANC is set to lose its majority after 30 years of it being in power since 1994.
The ANC has said it will not comment on Zuma’s political stance. But the ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has said the party seeks to take legal action against the new party.