Jacob Zuma shocked the ruling party when he publicly endorsed the MK Party and said his conscience would not allow him to vote for the ANC or Ramaphosa. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/African News Agency(ANA)
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in KwaZulu-Natal has shown little interest in the new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party criticising former president Jacob Zuma, describing him as a non-threatening factor in the country’s political landscape.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, chairperson of the IFP in KZN, Thami Ntuli, dismissed Zuma and the MK Party, saying it was still the same Zuma - only older and weaker.
“I don’t feel that political parties should feel any threat that there is this JZ and MK party because there is this spear...
“It’s just JZ who is a senior who sings very well, who dances very well but when it comes to what people benefited during his tenure, I don’t think he is any better when he is now at the centre of MK Party. He is now getting even more older and weaker,” Ntuli said.
Zuma created a stir recently when he publicly endorsed the MK Party and told his supporters he would not vote for the African National Congress (ANC) in the 2024 national and provincial elections.
He made a surprise visit at a MK Party meeting, held at Mzo Lifestyle in Verulam in Durban, which was attended by hundreds of supporters on Tuesday.
Zuma again stated he would not vote for the governing party under President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership.
Earlier in the month, Zuma said he could not and will not campaign for the ANC of Ramaphosa.
“My conscience will not allow me to lie to the people of South Africa and pretend that the ANC of Ramaphosa was the one of [late former ANC leaders Albert] Luthuli, [Oliver] Tambo, and [Nelson] Mandela,” Zuma said at the time during a media briefing in Soweto, Johannesburg.
Zuma clarified that he was not leaving the ANC but would vote for MK Party, citing his predecessor as “an agent of white capital who has declared war on black progressives and professionals”.
kailene.pillay@inl.co.za
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