President of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, Jacob Zuma, has launched a court application against President Cyril Ramaphosa and the African National Congress (ANC), seeking to overturn the liberation party’s decision to terminate his 65-year-long membership.
The former president argues the decision was unlawful. In a statement released on Thursday morning, the MK Party said Zuma was on record saying the ANC’s “sell-out tendencies” led to the formation of the party. The party said the application would be launched on the Freedom Charter’s 70th anniversary – 26 June – to serve as a reminder of the ANC’s betrayal.
“It did so by entering into the sell-out so-called GNU deal, which is nothing but a grand coalition with the right-wing DA and the Freedom Front Plus,” said the MK Party.
MK PARTY ALLOWS FOR DUAL MEMBERSHIP
The MK Party said it fully supported Zuma’s bid to hold dual membership of both MK and the ANC, adding that if the court challenge was successful, it could bring South Africa closer to what the party calls “total liberation” and the return of land to its rightful owners.
The MK Party’s constitution permits dual membership under exceptional and strategic circumstances. However, this is the case only with parties in formal alliance with the political party.
“It is against that political and strategic background that the MK Party continues not only to approve but to support the president’s fight for dual membership. Only once our people have been reunited, by any means necessary, can we talk of victory in the struggle for total liberation in our country, our continent and the diaspora,” said MK Party.
WHY WAS ZUMA’S ANC MEMBERSHIP TERMINATED?
Zuma was removed from the party last year, with the ANC ruling that its former president’s conduct – starting an oppositional political party – amounted to the highest form of ill-discipline and abandoned the organisation’s core values. The ANC said Zuma was expected to embody the highest standards of disciplined leadership.
As a result, his expulsion was necessary to safeguard the ANC’s integrity.
DO YOU BELIEVE ZUMA IS FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE OR PERSONAL POWER?
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