Jacob Zuma (center) arrives at a campaign rally at a packed Orlando Stadium in Soweto Photo: Ihsaan Haffeji/Anadolu
South Africa Jacob Zuma promised to nationalize industry, redistribute land and fight crime in a fiery speech as he unveiled his new manifesto ahead of the country's elections.
Mr Zuma, who was forced to step down as president in 2018 amid an ongoing corruption scandal . , lamented the high level of poverty among black South Africans and promised to create jobs.
“We want our children to study for free, especially those from poor families, because the poverty we have is not of our own making. It was created by settlers who took everything, including our land. We will bring it all back, make money and educate our children,” he told thousands of supporters gathered at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.
The 82-year-old UMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party leader looked tired as he arrived at the stadium, accompanied by men in military uniform and traditional Zulu warriors carrying spears and leopard skins. But he rallied as he stepped forward to speak, leading the crowd in a revolutionary song and performing for more than an hour before launching into the next chorus.
“Our hunger and poverty make us feel like we are criminals. , we have no brain, we have nothing. That time has passed because we are good people who sacrifice, but some people are pushing us towards crime,” he said.
Mr Zuma said his party was aiming to win more than 65 percent of the countrywide vote in the upcoming elections as it would allow them to change many laws in the country's constitution.
Possible coalition
Recent polls and analysts have suggested that The ruling African National Congress (ANC) could win less than 50 percent of the vote and will have to form a coalition with smaller parties to stay in power. Zuma's party, created last December, has become a major player in the upcoming South African elections.
By inciting supporters in his homeland, the Zulu, he showed contempt for the party that had made him president. He says the ANC, which he joined as a teenager more than 60 years ago, has been taken over by white capitalists and is driving South Africa to national despair. He expressed particular anger at Cyril Ramaphosa, his successor as president, who now leads the ANC. Only by nationalizing industry and allocating land to disenfranchised black farmers can the situation be turned around and the country's crippling unemployment curbed, Mr Zuma said.
Mr Zuma's entourage included Zulu warriors in traditional dress. Photo: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
His campaign speeches mark an extraordinary return to the political arena for one of South Africa's most controversial politicians. Six years after Mr Zuma was ousted from power over allegations that he masterminded a massive looting of the public sector, he has formed a new party targeting his former comrades. The emergence of his Knesset party has intensified the election campaign, with the ANC this month facing the loss of absolute power for the first time in 30 years.
Despite his checkered past and questions over his close relationship with Russia, Mr Zuma has managed to emerge as a key figure in the election campaign. The MK party has little chance of winning the May 29 election, but the creation of the party is widely seen as Zuma's revenge as he feels betrayed by his former comrades, especially Ramaphosa.
Its ability to win precious ANC votes at home Mr Zuma's province, KwaZulu-Natal, increases the likelihood that his former party will fall short of the 50 percent of votes needed to rule the country. Some analysts believe this could mean the end of Ramaphosa's reign.
Nhlamulo Ndhlala, a spokesman for the NC party, said: “The capitalists have taken control of the ANC and elected a right-wing puppet [Ramaphosa] to carry out their agenda, selling off state-owned enterprises, selling off components of the state, selling off our ports. , a state-owned airline and much more.
“This was no longer the same ANC, when the party president was led and elected by people, branches: the electoral conference in 2017 was bought. The ANC is now controlled by capitalists with a specific agenda.»
In response, the ANC leadership became increasingly critical of the former president. They are particularly outraged that he stole the name of the former armed wing of the ANC for his new party.
“He said he did not support the values that brought us into the struggle,” said Baleka Mbete, a former deputy president. “It's disappointing for those who worked with him and thought we knew him, but now he has defined himself differently. We can only be sad.”
Polls show the Knesset Party gaining between 8 and 16 percent of the vote. Credit : Ihsan Haffeji/Getty Images
Zuma's new party is the latest chapter in a long political career that has seen him avoid disaster so many times that he has been dubbed the escape artist. Having joined the ANC as a teenager, he spent ten years in prison on apartheid Robben Island before leading the movement's intelligence wing in exile.
After the end of apartheid, he quickly rose through the ranks of the party. Before becoming president, he was also acquitted of rape and accused of corruption in connection with a government arms deal. However, it was during his tenure as President from 2009 to 2018 that for many South Africans he personified the death of Nelson Mandela's dream.
He was accused of masterminding a process known as state capture, in which the allies took control of ministries and state-owned enterprises so they could loot budgets and assets. Mr Zuma vehemently denied wrongdoing but was removed from power and then jailed for refusing to testify at the national inquiry into state capture. Due to health reasons, he served only three months.
Mr Ndhlela claims the investigation was an expensive farce. “It cost at least R1 billion (£43 million). Who benefited from this? They were mostly white lawyers.”
Less than six months after the founding of the Knesset Party, polls showed that it had gained anywhere from 8 to 16 percent of the vote. However, many believe Zuma remains compromised by his past, meaning no other party will be willing to bring him into the coalition.
Ghaleb Cachalia, a former member of parliament for the opposition Democratic Alliance, said: “He suffered very badly. Even though some corruption existed before Zuma's presidency in various transactions, Zuma very brazenly took it to another level, right in front of you. It was state capture: milking government partnerships.”
There are also questions about his ties to Russia. During his presidency, he established close relations with Moscow and came here many times, including for treatment.
J. P. Landman, one of South Africa's most respected political analysts, wonders whether Zuma's «blood feud» to topple Ramaphosa will work. He may also be doing it to secure a political legacy for his daughter, Mr. Landman said. But the charismatic escape artist’s time is running out, and his party turns into a one-man show.
“One has to wonder, what is MK without Zuma? Is it long term that Zuma will leave or die? He is of advanced age. Is there a long-term future? It could still fall apart and MK could disappear once Mr Zuma is no longer there,” Mr Landman said.
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