‘Zuma no longer a member of the ANC,’ says Bheki Mtolo

Former president Jacob Zuma is “no longer a member of the African National Congress (ANC)”.

This is what the governing party’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo told SAFM on Tuesday morning.

Last month, Zuma announced that he would support the Umkhonto weSizwe party (MK) party ahead of the 2024 general elections because the ANC has strayed from its core values.

Treason and treachery

The former president has been on a campaign trail for the newly formed MK party, which has been seen by many as a breakaway faction of the ANC.

Analysts labelled Zuma’s move a blow for the ANC, and its Veterans League said it amounted to “treason and treachery”. It called for “strong action” to be taken against the former president.

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ANC in disarray

Mtolo said Zuma had good and bad attributes suggesting the ANC was weak when Zuma left the party.

“In the ANC as a party, you can’t deny that the ANC got more divided, more fragmented. Not only the ANC, but the entire alliance, Cosatu, the youth league, the women’s league, everything was in a disarray…It was very, very weak when he (Zuma) left.”

Mtolo said the ANC has not turned against Zuma, it is Zuma who turned against the ANC.

“We have not left him, he has left the ANC… I think it is the hatred for (Cyril) Ramaphosa, but also he has realised that the ANC has at some point got enough of serving only his interest at some point.”

“I can tell you the support that we have given president Zuma, even after we were elected in 2022, the support we have given him is beyond any person, but there is a limit where you say I can’t go beyond this,” Mtolo said.

Not a member of ANC

Mtolo said Zuma is not a member of the ANC. “He has not been expelled, he has left the ANC.”

Political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the ANC has taken on Zuma the wrong way and, taking no disciplinary action against its former president is a mistake.

“The party had opted to deal with him on public platforms, which is not what they should be doing as the first step,” he said.

Zuma was expected to attend an MK gathering in Limpopo that involved a wreath-laying at graves of ANC members, including his former ally Collins Chabane, but the families refused to allow MK members to visit the graves.

Additional reporting by Eric Naki.

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