The uMkhonto weSizwe party wants Jacob Zuma to return to power, despite the constitutional ban. Supporters of former South African President Jacob Zuma’s newly formed MK party hope to see him return to power, although he did not attend their rally. At a small stadium in the town of Tembisa, about 40 kilometers northeast of Johannesburg, a small crowd of about 300 people gathered waiting to see their hero, singing anti-crime songs. apartheid and wearing t-shirts bearing the image of the former leader. Mandla Khoza, an MK party supporter, said he hoped the party could “make a difference” in a South Africa troubled by failing infrastructure, a weak economy and violent crime. Last month, Zuma announced he would campaign for the Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK) party, named after the former armed wing of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). The country is expected to hold its general elections in the coming months, but Zuma, a former ANC stalwart who previously served two terms as president and was convicted of contempt of court, is theoretically barred from running for office elective. His supporters reject that, and his new movement could influence the outcome if it recruits voters from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC, which has been in government since 1994. Under a hot sun, the marshals guided an excited, chattering crowd wearing the party color, green, in a shaded pavilion. The left-wing party was formed in September last year by “concerned” former soldiers of the former MK, according to Khayanga Setlatjile, event coordinator and himself a former apartheid fighter. “There is no one who loves his country more than a soldier,” he said, adding that there was “no one better” than Zuma, former leader of the armed wing of the ANC, to lead the movement. But perhaps concerned about the low turnout in Tembisa, he added: “We want to get rid of this idea that this is Zuma’s party.” After hours of waiting, the former president did not show up. But Siphamandla Zondi, a professor of politics at the University of Johannesburg, said the small size of the high-profile event does not mean the party does not have the potential to win support. “It indicates a lack of organization, especially among those on the ground… as a result, it’s a bit embarrassing,” he said. “Organizing is a skill they should learn very quickly,” Zondi added, but “in politics, one day is a lot of time. They have shown that they have massive support in many other provinces like KwaZulu-Natal, and they also did it in Mpumalanga”. Recently, there has been controversy around the idea that Zuma, who has been elected president twice previously, might run again for another term, this time as a challenger to former ANC comrades. According to the Constitution, “no person may hold the presidency for more than two terms.” But the party is not intimidated. “President Zuma can run, nothing is stopping him,” said party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela. Ndhlela called for constitutional reform, arguing: “If the will of the people is such that President Zuma should be president, then we must change the constitution to make that happen.” According to Setlatjile, the party has not yet held a conference to elect a permanent leader and executive committee, which is expected to happen after the elections, and therefore Zuma is an interim leader of the party. “Zuma will be president,” Ndhlela said.
“The uMkhonto weSizwe party wants Jacob Zuma to return to power despite opposition from the Constitution”
