MK veteran praises Zuma for not clinging to power

A SENIOR Umkhonto weSizwe veteran, Alfred Duma, criticised President Jacob Zuma’s adversaries on Sunday, saying the calls for Zuma to step down were pointless as the president had indicated that he intended to step down in 2019.

Two municipalities in northern KwaZulu-Natal, the Emnambithi/ Ladysmith and Indaka Local Municipality, were last year amalgamated and named after Duma in recognition of the 90-year-old’s role in the Struggle to liberate South Africa.

The nonagenarian’s wrinkled face glowed with excitement when he met Zuma at the weekend.

Zuma was in Duma’s hometown of Ladysmith on Sunday to address the ANC Youth League’s 73rd anniversary celebration at the local Ezakheni township.

Both men had served together in MK, and both had been imprisoned on Robben Island.

Upon Duma’s arrival at the venue, a group of MK Military Veterans Association members offered him a military salute as a sign of respect.

Duma heaped praise on Zuma, and the president shared story after story about Duma’s heroic role in the MK Struggle.

Duma said those who were calling for Zuma to step down were out of order. He said the country should appreciate that, unlike some presidents on the continent, Zuma had not turned to “spilling blood” in an attempt to hold on to power.

“He has said that he will relinquish power, and I don’t know what more you want from him.

“We must appreciate that he has not refused to relinquish power. We appreciate that he did not create tensions that led to the spilling of blood in the country,” said Duma.

A frail-looking Duma spoke of his first encounter with Zuma, when the latter led a group of young people in an attack on a beer hall in Durban.

He said this was when he realised that Zuma was “a man who was committed to the liberation Struggle”. He said this was at a time when the ANC had instructed its volunteers to stop “our fathers” from wasting their time drinking beer instead of participating in the Struggle.

He said he and Zuma had played a pivotal role in the activities of MK, with Zuma deployed as an MK marshal, specialising in protecting Nelson Mandela from apartheid police whenever Mandela was in Natal to address political events.

“He would also arrange a secret exit for Mandela, who had to hurry away after delivering a speech as SBs (Security Branch officers) were watching and were trying to arrest him. Mandela would never enter or leave a venue through the same exits that everyone else was using,” he said.

He said Zuma deserved the title of MK commander-in-chief.

“He is not an impostor. It is in his blood. He is in charge of MK and he was a founding member.”

Zuma called on ANCYL members to emulate Duma by influencing the ANC in terms of how they were leading the current struggle.