Zuma may still be barred from Parliament
JACOB Zuma’s umkhonto wesizwe Party (MKP) has scored a public relations master stroke over its political opponents as the controversy over his eligibility to stand as a candidate keeps the party at the centre of public debate.
Right now, Zuma’s political future hinges on South Africa’s highest court, after the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) made an “urgent and direct appeal” on Thursday to the Constitutional Court.
This came after the Electoral Court overturned the IEC’S decision to prevent Zuma from taking part in the May 29 national elections.
The IEC says it wants clarity on the matter before the polls.
It has argued that Zuma’s previous prison sentence meant that he was not eligible to stand as a candidate in the elections, while his legal representatives said his remission of sentence had to be taken into account.
The IEC said there was “substantial public interest in providing certainty on the proper interpretation of section 47(1)(e) and its interplay with the powers of the commission to adjudicate objections to candidates”.
“The commission wishes to emphasise that this appeal is not intended to involve itself in the political field of play. It is rather to ensure free and fair elections by ensuring that applicable constitutional provisions relating to elections are clearly understood by all role-players and applied evenly.”
Political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu, from the University of Kwazulu-natal (UKZN), says the court’s decision to give Zuma the go-ahead to stand as a candidate was more political than legal.
“We saw people making threats, basically saying that if Zuma is not allowed to be the face of the party or to contest, there could be violence.
“We saw violence in 2021, which was done in his name and he’s never condemned it,” Ndlovu said.
“When they make threats, he doesn’t defend himself or condemn them, which suggests that he approves of what they are saying.”
But even if the Constitutional Court ruled in Zuma’s favour, UKZN political analyst Sakhile Hadebe said Zuma could still be pulled out on the first sitting of Parliament after the elections.
“The chief justice will be (present) as it is usual that the first meeting of Parliament is chaired by the chief justice (before the Speaker is elected).
“Parliament can still say, ‘you are not eligible to be in Parliament’,” he said.
If things were to go his supporters’ way, Zuma would be the first former president to become an MP if his party does not win the elections, and would be the first to serve a third term as state president in the history of the country’s democratic dispensation if it did.
The Constitution’s section 47 (1)(e) states that a person who has served more than 12 months of a prison sentence without an option of a fine cannot be elected to Parliament until five years after the sentence has been completed.
Hadebe said there was nothing peculiar about the Electoral Court changing the law to allow Zuma to go to Parliament with a criminal record.
“If it (the ruling) changes the law, there is nothing wrong with that because that is how the law is developed.
“Judgments are also part of sources of law, and the law of precedent applies to a landmark case and all others follow.
“This is how the law is developed and there is nothing new as it relies on the fact that the law can be changed as it is not consistent with the Constitution,” said Radebe.
He said that politically the ruling might have saved the country, especially Kwazulu-natal – which remained politically volatile – from threats of violence by certain MKP members who insisted that Zuma should be the president again.
Hadebe warned that if Zuma were to return to Parliament, he would risk losing his presidential benefits, including salary and other related perks.
He added that since Zuma has already served two terms as president, legally he could not be the president again.
“Zuma cannot be the president of the Republic of South Africa under law, but he can be a member of Parliament, which I don’t think is desirable because of his benefit and status,” said Hadebe.
Legal analyst Mpumelelo Zikalala said although the IEC might have been within its rights to remove Zuma’s name from the list, it acted unfairly by not giving him a right to reply to the objection against him.
“If there is someone who objected to you, I am supposed to come to you and say, please respond,” said Zikalala.
He agreed with Hadebe that Zuma was not eligible to be the president again because he had served two terms.
“Your term starts when you are elected and ends when you resign, or after the next election, or when you die,” he said.
“Zuma was not removed (by Parliament), he resigned under the pressure of his political party and this had nothing to do with Parliament processes or the Constitution.”
When they make threats, he doesn’t defend himself or condemn them, which suggests that he approves of what they are saying
LAST week, the Independent published part one of the State Security Report after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned a 2022 high court ruling preventing Independent Media from publishing a report dated November 5, 2020, titled “Top secret: US interest in ANC party dynamics”, commissioned by US intelligence operating at the country’s offices in Pretoria.
Among those who were targeted by the US spies were Jacob Zuma, Ace Magashule, Carl Niehaus and many others, including former ANC Youth League leaders.
“The purpose of this intelligence brief is to inform the Minister and Deputy Minister of the State Security Agency (SSA) of the extent of the United States' collection efforts and outputs regarding the political dynamics of the ANC, specifically in relation to developments regarding ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule and his perceived anti-president Cyril Ramaphosa positioning.
“The US National Security Strategy has mandated US intelligence formations to ‘identify and assess capabilities, activities, and intentions of states and non-state entities and to develop a deep understanding of the strategic environment and to warn of future developments on issues’.
“As such, the Political Office of the US Embassy in Tshwane continues to gather information related to the ruling party, which is then sent to the US State Department,” read the report.
The report stated that its political office at the US Embassy in Pretoria concluded that Magashule was “galvanising his supporters in anticipation of his arrest for corruption”.
This is in addition to the defiance of the Zondo Commission by former president Jacob Zuma, which forms part of the broader anti-ramaphosa faction's strategy to protect both Zuma and Magashule.
This brief confirms that the US Embassy is part of the US intelligence community, and has a network of ANC party officials who, wittingly or unwittingly, share privileged information.
“The Free State ANC and ANCYL are leading efforts to defend Magashule and will exploit his possible arrest to launch a campaign to have President Ramaphosa removed as the ANC President at the next National General Council (NGC). In addition, the Free State ANCYL is being leveraged by Magashule to garner public sympathy and project himself as a victim of political purging by President Ramaphosa.
“The Free State ANCYL is lobbying other provinces to support their efforts. In this regard, it was assessed that the Kwazulu-natal ANC Provincial Chairperson and current Premier of Kwazulu-natal, Sihle Zikalala will not support Magashule's efforts to divide the ANC and weaken President Ramaphosa,” read the report.
It was not clear how the US embassy assessed and concluded that Zikalala would not support the so-called plan to weaken Ramaphosa.
“The Free State ANCYL provincial leadership was recently disbanded and the group that is currently purporting to be the leaders of the ANCYL, are merely a ‘rented crowd’ who are protecting an ‘individual’. The national office of the ANCYL respects the rule of law and will not support any ANC leaders accused of corruption, including Magashule.
“Pro-magashule business people from the Free State (not identified) are coordinating support for both
Magashule and Zuma and have funded structures such as the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) and the ANC Women's League. The ANCYL was invited by former ANC Spokesperson, Carl Niehaus, to join a campaign to support Magashule,” read the report.
The Secret Intelligence report also stated that a controversial businessperson with links to Magashule, furnished the Free State ANCYL with R 2.8 million early in 2020 to fund their operations.
It further said that former president Zuma and Magashule met regularly in Durban, Kwazulu-natal to strategise and consolidate their campaign to weaken the Zondo Commission and President Ramaphosa.
“Their strategy is to delay the work of the commission until it runs out of time without cross-examining Zuma and Magashule. This campaign is coordinated and led by key Zuma allies, including: Carl Niehaus and a former Minister of Environmental Affairs,” read the report.
Contacted for comment, spokesperson of the Zuma Foundation Mzwanele Manyi said that due to the political nature of the matter, Zuma’s political party the umkhonto wesizwe Party (MK Party) was better positioned to comment. However, MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela did not respond to questions from the publication.
Asked about the report, Magashule said: “Niehaus told the publication that it was no secret that he was opposed to Ramaphosa’s style of leadership and also said that he expressed his strong concerns about how the Zondo commission was being conducted.
“I openly spoke about this but I don't remember trying to recruit ANCYL against Ramaphosa. What I find more disturbing is the fact that the US is spying on ANC leaders using the same ANC leaders to spy on their comrades.
“The Zondo commission was weaponised by certain factions within the ruling party to fight others. It is a shock that even some ANC leaders are US spies,” said Niehaus.