Former ANC president and former SA president Jacob Zuma has been expelled from the ANC.
The ANC’s national disciplinary committee (NDC) found Zuma guilty of two charges of misconduct.
The charges are in relation to the announcement Zuma had made on December 16 last year that he will not be campaigning nor voting for the ANC in the May 29 national and provincial elections.
Zuma was also charged for his role in the registration of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party as a political party and giving it his blessing.
According to the ANC’s NDC, Zuma was charged for contravening rule 25.17 of the ANC constitution.
“The charged member is found guilty of contravening Rule 25.17.17.4 of the ANC constitution, read with subsection (2), for prejudicing the integrity or repute of the organisation by acting in collaboration with a registered political party, to wit the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, which is not in alliance with the ANC, in a manner contrary to the aims, policies and objectives of the ANC.
“The charged member is expelled from the ANC. The charged member has the right to appeal to the National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal within 21 days,” the NDC said when handing down its verdict.
Zuma’s hearing was held last week.
The party said he had a right to appeal its ruling within 21 days. MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said they don’t take the NDC’s findings as a ruling because Zuma’s legal team and Tony Yengeni, as his representative, were not furnished with it.
“At this point, we have seen a document that is circulating and it would be very disappointing if that is the authentic documentation of the true reflection of the outcome. Right now we can only take it as a document that is circulating,” he added.
Zuma is the second Radical Economic Transformation (RET) heavyweight to have been expelled by the ANC. Former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule was also expelled for failing to meet the deadline to make representations about why the NDC should not confirm the sanctions imposed on him.
Magashule’s expulsion came after he refused to abide by the ANC’s step-aside rule to temporarily vacate his party position until the completion of his trial, and instead he issued a suspension letter against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The expulsion prevented him from contesting the last ANC elective conference.
The Mercury