ANC’s predicament is to keep Zuma at arm’s length while embracing his supporters
Anticorruption stance risks alienating province with strong ANC support
● It was a case of damned if you do and damned if you don’t for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s national executive committee when it ruled that ANC structures must not mobilise support for former leader Jacob Zuma.
Ramaphosa had just clinched an electoral victory in the party after campaigning on an anticorruption ticket. He had promised a rebirth for the ANC, which had been sullied by allegations of corruption over the past decade of Zuma’s leadership.
The Nkandla scandal, the capture of the state by one family and the collapse of state-owned enterprises and several state institutions had dented the ANC’s image so badly that the party losing control of central government no longer seemed impossible.
The 2016 local government election, in which the ANC was unseated in major metros, was a clear sign that voter apathy towards the ANC had reached unprecedented levels.
Ramaphosa’s backers, who are a majority in the NEC, laid all the blame on one man — Zuma. So the NEC took a decision that its structures — including the women’s league, the youth league and the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans’ Association, all of which have been staunch Zuma supporters — should not show support for party leaders or members facing corruption allegations.
The intention was to dissociate the party from its ugly past in the hope that voters would buy into the notion of a Zuma-free ANC. It is a move that could spruce up the party’s image and improve its electoral fortunes, especially in urban areas outside KwaZulu-Natal where Zuma is persona non grata.
However, the NEC may have shot itself in the foot. Zuma is facing 16 charges of racketeering, corruption, money laundering and fraud. This is in relation to 783 questionable payments connected with the arms deal over which Zuma’s former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was jailed for corruption.
To his supporters, he is a victim of an unjust system, and in their minds there exists a political conspiracy to throw him behind bars.
Zuma’s supporters see the absence of an official ANC presence outside court as a bid to isolate him during his time of need. This was evident in placards carried by supporters professing undying support and asking what Zuma has done wrong.
As flawed as Zuma may be, he remains very popular with many people within the ANC. Although senior ANC leaders have stayed away from the Zuma trial, his supporters have defied an ANC ban on the display of party regalia and colours at the court.
The absence of credible senior ANC leaders and structures in the organising of Zuma’s “rallies” has given a platform to opportunists who want to milk the Zuma name for their own benefit. The appearances have been ANC-bashing platforms, with little-known individuals and organisations taking turns to insult Ramaphosa’s ANC.
These include Andile Mngxitama’s Black First Land First, the National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa and Mazibuye African Congress which have been using Zuma’s appearances to campaign against the Ramaphosa ANC ahead of next year’s elections — expected to be the most difficult yet for the party.
Zuma has distanced himself from plans to form a new party, but he has not chastised those who use his name to throw mud at the ANC, giving credence to reports that the plans do in fact have his blessing.
Around him has emerged a coalition of the wounded and disgraced, including former finance minister Des van Rooyen, former communications minister Faith Muthambi, Eastern Cape councillor Andile Lungisa, ousted North West premier Supra Mahumapelo, and former SABC executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
With the ANC distancing itself from the campaign to mobilise support for him, Zuma has been given free rein to do it himself — and it is something at which he excels.
The new ANC provincial leadership in KwaZuluNatal, elected last weekend, has announced its intention of trying to persuade the NEC to rethink the decision to withhold support from Zuma.
Sihle Zikalala, chair of the party in the province, Zandile Gumede, mayor of eThekwini, and Sipho Hlomuka, deputy provincial secretary, were among party leaders who shared a stage with Zuma on Friday.
Their appearance outside the Pietermaritzburg court, although they were there in their “personal capacities”, was an attempt to reclaim the platform and win over Zuma backers who are disgruntled with Ramaphosa’s ANC.
The ANC’s decision to distance itself from the political mobilisation around Zuma’s court appearances could cost the party in KwaZuluNatal and others areas where the former president remains popular. The division will be highlighted when the ANC launches its election campaign for next year’s polls just as Zuma’s trial is set to start.
KwaZulu-Natal has been the only province to experience increasing support for the party in recent elections.
Ramaphosa’s ANC must be careful not to be seen to be isolating that constituency, because there is no guarantee that the party’s fortunes will improve in other provinces.
A middle ground has to be found, where the ANC takes control of the Zuma platform without being seen to be condoning corruption.
Should the ANC not change its stance on Zuma, members will continue to defy Luthuli House’s orders, creating fertile ground for an all-out revolt.
Zuma loyalists being fed anti-Ramaphosa rhetoric by the likes of Mngxitama at court appearances may well seek a new political home, especially with Zuma publicly endorsing Mngxitama.
Zuma said outside court earlier: “I heard one man say they will vote for Mngxitama. Mngxitama is OK, he has no problems; he is right, but not for the reasons you are stating. This is a clear political line, you can’t not vote and let people vote for the wrong party. Vote for this man [Mngxitama] because he wants issues to be resolved speedily.”