By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The former president Jacob Zuma is once again taking his predecessor Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC to court to challenge his expulsion from the party.
Zuma’s court application, launched on Thursday, the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, seeks to set aside the ANC’s decision to terminate his 65-year-long membership.
Freedom Charter Day is one of the most symbolically loaded dates in South African history, marking the 1955 vision of a free, equal society.
The ANC expelled Zuma in July 2024 for violating Rule 25 of its constitution by forming and leading a rival party. According to the ANC, that act alone sealed his fate.
In a statement on Thursday, the MK Party labelled Zuma’s disciplinary hearing by the ANC as a kangaroo court.
Zuma — who was a member of the ANC for most of his life — said his membership of the “real ANC of (Albert) Luthuli, (Oliver) Tambo and (Nelson) Mandela cannot be erased by sell-outs and DA puppets like Ramaphosa and (Fikile) Mbalula”.
“It was indeed the sell-out tendencies of these traitors which led to the formation of the MK Party on December 16 2023 and the removal of the ANC from power five months later in the May 2024 elections.
“The symbolic institution of this application on Freedom Charter Day serves as a reminder of the unforgivable betrayal of the people by the ANC of Ramaphosa which has reversed even the small gains achieved since 1994, MK Party said.
The court will now have to consider whether Zuma’s expulsion process was fair, and whether his right to belong to a political party has been unjustly infringed.