It is nearly a month since Jacob Zuma’s new toy, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, was launched. It has no constitution, no aims and objectives, no structures, no policies and no recognisable leaders except Zuma. It has supporters who sing, clap, nod and ululate when their corruption-soaked hero opens his mouth.
Last week, Zuma’s followers applauded when this former president made the chilling claim that votes are counted in secret in South Africa, suggesting that our upcoming election may be rigged against him. This is a man who was elected twice — 2009 and 2014 — and was there as we watched votes being counted, alongside observers from all political parties. Our elections have been consistently free and fair for 30 years. What is he doing?
He is preparing the ground for violent protest in case of electoral defeat.
After a month of this MK Party nonsense, it is clear that we are making a huge mistake: despite our knowledge of him and his corrupt intentions, we are still not listening to Zuma properly. Again and again, he tells us who he is and what he intends to do. As in the past, our government leaders take no heed. As in the past, they tell themselves he will not execute his plan. As in the past, they are lying to themselves and to us.
Listen to Zuma, please. This is a man whose name led to the deaths of 354 people in July 2021.
Here it is: Zuma is putting South Africa on notice that he may resort to violence. I warned back in the mid-2000s that Zuma would introduce a reign of corruption when he came to power in 2009. He did, as we know from the Zondo commission.
I have warned that his capture of state security structures (police and military intelligence, plus the State Security Agency) remains a hazard to the safety of South Africa.
People’s war? Really? The concept is from Mao Zedong, who engaged the state in a long guerrilla war. What is Zuma saying? He is taking up arms
Most importantly, the ANC’s handling of Zuma (and any act of criminality within its ranks) means he knows with certainty that he will suffer no consequences for his actions. Think back to a few months ago when Zuma was supposed to go back to jail to finish his sentence for contempt of court (the trigger for July 2021). The justice minister, Ronald Lamola, went through contortions to ensure Zuma did not serve a single day in jail by releasing 10,000 other criminals. The message to Zuma and his supporters is clear: the law applies to everyone except you.
So listen to Zuma because he is making it abundantly clear what he intends to do.
First, he claims that he will use the ballot to bring the ANC to its knees, but chooses to use violent imagery and language. For example, in his launch statement he quoted the famous MK statement of December 16 1961, in which it said it was forced to “submit [to apartheid] or fight”.
Zuma said last month: “The statement was true on December 16 1961 and it is also true on December 16 2023. The new people’s war starts from today.”
People’s war? Really? The concept is from Mao Zedong, who engaged the state in a long guerrilla war. What is Zuma saying? He is taking up arms: “The new people’s war starts from today.”
Why is a man of peace stealing the name, logo, colours and members of a former guerrilla army instead of starting a separate, peaceful new party? Why is he singing “Awulethe uMshini Wam [Bring me my machine gun]”? As many ANC veterans have said, what is the point of singing this song in peace time? Or, as Mosiuoa Lekota, now head of COPE, said in 2008, those who sing this song in support of Zuma “aba badlanga ekhanda” — they are not right in the head. Unless, of course, one wants war.
ANC national chair Gwede Mantashe might not be far wrong when he says “it’s common in Africa for former presidents to go and lead rebel movements”.
Don’t be afraid to say it: Zuma, who turned us into an international laughing stock, is taking a leaf from the playbooks of Unita rebel leader Jonas Savimbi and Renamo’s Afonso Dhlakama.
You have been warned.
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