JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma was suspended from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Monday, weeks after he backed another party ahead of this year’s general elections.

The decision, which was widely expected, will be seen as a further sign of disunity in the movement ahead of this year’s vote, in which the long-dominant ANC is expected to lose ground.

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula said Zuma would undergo a disciplinary process and the party would take legal action against the rival political group campaigning in his name.

“Zuma, and others whose conduct is in conflict with our values and principles, will find themselves outside the African National Congress,” Mbalula told a press conference. Zuma was the fourth president of democratic South Africa from 2009 to 2018 but was forced from office under the cloud of corruption allegations and he has become estranged from the party he once led.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2024