Fear of Jacob Zuma hamstrings the ANC

The spectre of Jacob Zuma is haunting the upper echelons of the ANC as he pursues his one-man campaign to either destroy the party, or take it over so he can be chief again.

ANC insiders say fear of the power of Jacob Zuma is what is hamstringing the organisation over taking decisive action against Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, who has been openly defying Luthuli House with his scathing criticism of the government of national unity (GNU).

ALSO READ: Lesufi’s defiance raises tensions in ANC leadership

The party is worried that if they do take action against him, he will defect to Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK)… and, even worse, take the ANC supporters in the province with him.

It is quite difficult to understand this latter belief among the ANC’s top comrades, given that, despite his repeated populist blustering, Lesufi’s province was the worst performer outside the Western Cape, in terms of votes for the party, in the May polls.

There was talk the hierarchy wanted to disband the Gauteng structures and reconstitute them as some sort of punishment for the bad result and to prepare the way for fresh leadership, that would deliver a better result for the party in the 2026 local government elections.

The ANC’s fear of Zuma is not far-fetched because he and his allies – and there are many of them, including the EFF and also within ANC ranks – have opposed the GNU as selling out to “white monopoly capital”.

That stance has struck a chord with what might loosely be termed a “coalition of the wounded” – those disciplined or ousted by the ANC, or who have fallen foul of the law. Lesufi would be a fine prize for MK – but whether he would be comfortable there, when his obvious desire is to sit in the presidential chair at Union Buildings, remains to be seen.

ALSO READ: ‘Those who win are those with money’ – Zuma on why MK party won’t have elective conferences