Ramaphosa ‘can expect more leadership angst’ after Zuma expulsion

The expulsion of former SA president and uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party leader Jacob Zuma from the ANC could stir more discontent within the party and make life more “miserable” for Cyril Ramaphosa, political pundits say. 

MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela confirmed on Monday that Zuma had received a letter from the ANC’s national disciplinary committee (NDC), informing him of its decision to expel him from the party.

Zuma was suspended from the ANC in January after he announced his support for the MK party in December. He was charged with contravening rule 25 of the ANC constitution, which bars members from organising or participating in the activities of another political party that is not in alliance with the ANC. 

“We received the letter from the NDC dated July 28 this morning. [Former] president Zuma will review the document with his lawyers upon which he will announce steps to take and chart a way forward,” Ndhlela said.

Zuma’s hearing was held virtually last week. The party said the former president, who was represented by his ally and ANC member Tony Yengeni, in the disciplinary proceedings, had a right to appeal its ruling within 21 days.

In a media briefing on Monday, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the NDC had found Zuma guilty of contravening section 25 of the ANC constitution. “The charged member is expelled from the ANC,” Mbalula said. 

“Former president Jacob Zuma has actively impugned the integrity of the ANC and campaigned to dislodge the ANC from power, while claiming that he had not severed his membership. This conduct is irreconcilable with the spirit of organisational discipline and letter of the ANC constitution,” he said. 

“Furthermore, [Zuma] has been running on a dangerous platform that casts doubt on our entire constitutional edifice ... His actions reinforces the work of the primarily right-wing opponents of the national democratic revolution.” 

The decision to expel Zuma, however, was viewed as doing little to bolster Ramaphosa’s renewal agenda in the ANC, where those that had been charged criminally are required to step aside. Political analysts said on Monday that Zuma’s expulsion was “too little too late” and that the “horse had bolted” already. 

Stellenbosch University political analyst Amanda Gouws said Zuma had created an untenable situation when he started the MK party while still being an ANC member. “The principles he stands for in the [MK party] election manifesto directly oppose what the ANC stands for. I think they have done right by expelling him,” she said. 

“I think this decision would result in the MK party probably causing havoc inside parliament. [Zuma’s supporters] have made Ramaphosa’s life miserable over the past five years. They will just continue doing so,” Gouws said. 

Nelson Mandela University political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast said Zuma had nothing to lose. “His long game is to project the ANC as an institution that has violated his rights. He could have walked out of the ANC when he broke the news that he would support the MK party,” he said. 

Zuma was playing politics and wanted to portray the “ANC of Ramaphosa as chasing away members who are critical of him”. 

“He knew the seriousness of his actions. Which party would keep a person who is [campaigning] against it? It stood to reason the ANC was going to let him go.” 

Breakfast said Zuma’s expulsion would do little to enhance the ANC’s renewal agenda. “The damage is already done. What’s done cannot be undone.”

When asked what Zuma’s expulsion would mean to his supporters within the rank and file of the ANC, Breakfast said: “Zuma is a strategist. He left with people. He must have asked others not to leave and destroy the ANC from the inside, while others are destroying it from the outside.” 

It could be argued that Zuma was responsible for the ANC’s poor showing in the May 29 polls in which it dipped below 50% for the first time since 1994. 

By contrast, the MK party is the official opposition party in parliament after netting 4.5-million votes (14.58%) during the general election, translating to 58 seats in the National Assembly. 

In Zuma’s stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal it became the biggest political party clinching 45.93% or more than 1.6-million votes. However, the MK party, which derives its name from the military wing of the ANC during the apartheid era, is not part of the government of national unity (GNU), nor of the governing coalition in KwaZulu-Natal. 

Tshwane University of Technology political analyst Levy Ndou said Zuma was not necessarily expelled from the ANC, arguing he had expelled himself. 

“He knowingly violated section 25 of ANC constitution. He has been in the ANC for a very long time, he knows its constitution very well. What he was doing was to sow divisions in the ANC and he succeeded in doing so,” he said.

Asked if this was the end of an era for Zuma in the ANC, Ndou said: “Zuma left the ANC a long time ago. When he announced he would vote for the MK party, he was clearly saying I’m no longer in the ANC.” 

Update: July 29, 2024 — This article has been updated with comment from the ANC.

mkentanel@businesslive.co.za