Former President Jacob Zuma. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G
Jacob Zuma took advantage of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party's first anniversary rally
It is aimed at presenting himself as a champion of black unity and calling on supporters to return him to public office so he can complete the “unfinished business” interrupted by his recall by the ANC.
The party marked its first anniversary on Sunday with a lively but delayed rally at Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium. Despite party leadership saying earlier this week that they expected a full seat, the seats were not filled.
Delays, the scorching heat of the open stands and the planned withdrawal of trains from areas around Durban all appeared to have played a role in Mr Zuma's speech to a stadium that was far from full.
The former president called on his supporters to prepare for the 2026 municipal polls (which he said his party would win) and the next national and local elections (just over four years away).
“We have four more years to vote again, take back what's ours and rebuild our country,” Zuma said. “Are you with me? Stop acting like it's going to take 10 years. We need to work now to get back to power.”
He called for unity among black political parties in 2026 and 2029, saying that in the coming elections, “black people must unite in local government and right what happened in the past.”
President Zuma thanked the leaders of the African Transformation Movement and other political parties in parliament's so-called Progressive Caucus for attending the anniversary, but the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) The invitation was declined.
Referring to this and the rejection of a call for unity by EFF president Julius Malema at the party's National People's Conference this week, Mr Zuma said this was no time for black political parties to fight or insult each other.
The former head of state called on black political parties to “stop fighting each other” to take power in the next elections and then return to normal politics.
“We are not playing here. This is the final stage of the fight for our country.”
The MK leader went on to say that his party had lost a two-thirds majority in the general election on May 29, winning 17% of the national vote and 45% in KwaZulu-Natal, and said the party had lost a two-thirds majority in the general election. I asked for a change. system.
The MK party filed a second challenge to the May results in the Electoral Court.
Mr Zuma called for changes to the electoral system and urged his supporters to challenge the status quo and stage protests to ensure votes are counted publicly and locally “and not by strangers”.
“They took away our votes. In the future, we need to be present when the community is counting our votes to know exactly what happened.” There has to be a public count. We need that,” he said.
“In the next election, we must all agree that MK must beat the big drum for votes and other parties must also count their votes. We have to be there when the votes are counted. We don't care what the regulations say.”
The MK leader also used the occasion to remind his supporters why he founded the party, saying there are things that “must not be forgotten” such as colonialism, apartheid and land grabbing, and that there is a collective national consensus. He said it continues today through the government. .
“We came here today to say there must be black unity. We are the only ones struggling. No one else will take us out of the struggle. It’s just us,” he said.
“Let us never forget what white people have done to us.”
Mr Zuma said the ANC's refusal to allow the changes he wanted and the ANC's attempt to recall him in 2018 were among the reasons that led him to form a new party. Ta.
After 30 years in power, he charged, the ANC “decided to join the whites” and “gradually moved away from me and eventually became my enemies.”
With one year left in his term, Zuma said that his “comrades were abusing me” because “they could see that I was going to change most things” and that “they were trying to force me out.” “I was forced to resign, so I resigned,” he added.
The former ANC president said the ruling party was “used as a weapon to bring us down”.
He added that the Zondo State Capture Committee, which implicated him in corruption, was “used to call people who don't steal thieves, and yet they all stole.”
Mr Zuma said nothing had happened about President Cyril Ramaphosa's scandals, including “there was money under the couch”, a reference to the Farah Farah affair.
“The president has committed the worst cases, but he has never been to court. He will be in court even if he has done nothing. I am out of prison,” Zuma said. , spoke about being jailed for contempt of court in 2021.
“They said arrest, arrest, but it's the president who's getting the money under the couch. He's a good guy.”
Deputy Prime Minister John Hlophe of Zuma's party also addressed supporters on Sunday, calling on party members to stop “jockeying for position” and establishing parallel structures.
The MK party has been embroiled in court over the removal of MPs brought in after the election, including Mr Hlophe himself, and has recently lost cases in both the Mpumalanga Provincial Assembly and the National Assembly.
It is also facing a legal battle over which of the two competing MK candidates will represent the party in a by-election in Petermartysburg next week.
“No movement is immune from internal challenges, and MK is no exception. As a young and dynamic organization, we have faced growing pains as we rapidly expand and pursue real change.” he said.
Both are “unfortunate realities” in politics, he said, but added: “Ambition is natural, but it must never come at the expense of our shared vision.”
He said factionalism was a “grave threat” to the party, weakening it and distracting it from its mission.
“We must decisively address these issues with resoluteness and an unwavering focus on the greater good,” Hlofe said.
