Reporter Lerato Mbhiza, Videographer Tlholohelo Mosala and Pictures by Eddie Mtsweni
Former President Jacob Zuma was speaking on Saturday at Ipelegeng, in White City Jabavu, Soweto at the much-anticipated media briefing where he denounced the ANC saying it no longer reflects the aspirations of ANC leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo.
Zuma said it was because of “infiltration” and failure of leadership, that the ANC has been reduced to an organisation that is hardly respected by those that it swore to liberate, serve and protect.
Sitting at the podium and flanked by his daughter Dudu Sambudla-Zuma, the former president added that he feels deep pain and disappointment that the ANC under his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, introduced practices “foreign” to the ANC’s character. He listed a long list of complaints.
“Having engaged with many people from many different walks of life, more especially those who have placed their faith in the ANC to transform their lives, it is clear that they are disappointed.
“They are very critical of the manner in which the ANC has been conducting itself as a political party governing their country in recent years, more especially under the current leadership,” Zuma said.
After a long and winding statement detailing his struggle credentials and his history with the ANC and lamenting the decline of the party saying it seems there was a deliberate plot to kill the one of the oldest liberation movements in Africa, Zuma said: “We need to rescue the ANC and bring it back to the organisation that we know, love and trust. This requires drastic action”.
Then came the crux of the matter.
“I therefore wish to announce that in 2024, I will vote for the Umkhonto WeSizwe (MK) Party. It has already been registered with the IEC with my knowledge and blessings, in response to various pleas expressed to me by some religious leaders, traditional leaders, former combatants and other leaders in society,” Zuma said.
The man who became the first South African President to be sent to jail, called out to people to vote for the MK Party as the ANC of Ramaphosa has left the people in darkness with load shedding, which has ruined the economy.
Zuma also said he had been in consultation with several leaders including 10 political parties with the aim of fostering the unity of the previously marginaslised and oppressed people of South Africa.
“We are also discussing the formation of a Patriotic Front and a voting bloc after the people’s victory in the 2024 election to pursue a minimum consensus programme of no more than 10 points of agreement to get us out of the present crisis, which is in the process of being formulated”.
“Today, my mission is only to announce the way forward. The formal launch of the MK Party and the announcement of its interim leadership and party lists will be done in the early part of 2024,” Zuma said.
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