Zuma won’t be attending the next Sona despite being invited

National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete spoke on Wednesday on the state of readiness for this year’s state of the nation address (Sona), mentioning that former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe would be in attendance.

An astute journalist later asked if the confirmation that those two would be attending meant former president Jacob Zuma would not, News24 reports.

National Council of Provinces chairperson Thandi Modise appeared to confirm this, saying that if Zuma’s name wasn’t mentioned it “might be because he has not accepted our invitation”, but added that she felt there was nothing “untoward about that”.

Regardless of whether there’s anything “untoward” about Zuma’s decision, it will likely be seen as a snub.

READ MORE: Ramaphosa involved Zuma to stop planned Moses Mabhida disruptions – report

Despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s show of unity with Zuma at a series of events in KwaZulu-Natal, the former president has since released a statement that seems to indicate that the pair’s political rivalry is far from over.

January saw the pair attending several events together ahead of the ANC’s manifesto launch at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on January 12.

Ramaphosa made a point of praising Zuma when he delivered the ANC’s annual January 8 address at the Ohlange Institute in Inanda, eThekwini.

READ MORE: ‘Zumaphosa monitor’ tracks Ramaphosa’s alleged bromance with Zuma

The pair were seen laughing together at events around that time, celebrating the party’s 107th birthday.

However, it was suggested by some that Ramaphosa was simply being tactical in embracing his predecessor, who is massively popular in his stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal, more so than the current president.

The Sunday Times reported at the time that Zuma had only been involved in proceedings as part of an attempt by the Ramaphosa camp to thwart an alleged plot by Zuma supporters to disrupt ANC events in a bid to embarrass the president.

READ MORE: Zuma hits back at those in the ANC calling his terms ‘nine lost years’

Columnist Max du Preez maintains it’s well known that “Ramaphosa can’t stand Zuma and says nasty things about him behind his back”. This contrasts with former DA employee Gareth van Onselen’s website Inside Politics, which hosts a Zumaphosa Monitor that tracks the alleged “bromance” between the two in a bid to prove that “you won’t find a single critical word” Ramaphosa has said about Zuma.

While he may have not directly levelled many negative public statements at Zuma, Ramaphosa did describe his presidency as “nine lost years” at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

Zuma took exception to this, releasing a statement on Twitter that should cast scepticism on anyone’s belief that his decision not to attend Sona is insignificant.

Zuma released a long statement on Tuesday afternoon, which can be read in full here, in which he can clearly be seen to be defending his legacy and taking issue with anyone trying to characterise his nearly two full terms as having been without merit.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman. Additional reporting by Charles Cilliers)

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