ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has labelled former party president Jacob Zuma a liar who only serves no one but himself. Mbalula was responding to a letter of demand Zuma served the party demanding to be reinstated as a party member by the 31st of January and threatening to take the party to court if they fail to do so. Zuma was kicked out of the party in 2023 after he established his own political movement and named it after the ANC's military wing, uMkhonto weSizwe. 

UNFAIRLY REMOVED

The Jacob Zuma Foundation said the former president was irregularly removed from the ANC. They added that should he not be reinstated by 31 January, the foundation will have no choice but to explore legal options to contest his removal. In a letter to the ANC, Zuma's attorney, Thabo Kwinana, outlined concerns regarding the processes undertaken by the ANC's National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) and the National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal (NDCA). "We are therefore instructed to demand, as we hereby do, that the ANC must take all the necessary steps to ensure that such a reasoned ruling of the NDCA is furnished, without delay; our client is provided with all the full record of the NDC/NDCA proceedings, including all outstanding documents and correspondence relevant thereto; and/or the expulsion ruling is immediately reversed with immediate effect pending proper compliance with the ANC Constitution and the Constitution of the Republic," read the letter by the foundation's spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi.

IRREGULARITIES

Zuma's representatives say that the ANC's actions were in breach of the organisation's constitution and the Constitution of South Africa. "These issues detailed in the document highlight irregularities that we believe an independent legal review would likely find invalid," said the foundation's spokesperson, Mzwanele Manyi.

MISCHIEVOUS

Mbalula has labelled Zuma's letter of demand as mischievous. Addressing the media after visiting Robben Island in Cape Town, Mbalula also said they will not be responding to the letter because Zuma was engaged by the organisation at various levels, in terms of the ANC Constitution as its guidance. He said Zuma's letter seeks to distract the party from celebrating their 113th year in existence and they will not entertain it.

"Zuma's letter is mischief because he was engaged by the organisation at various levels, and in terms of the ANC Constitution as its guidance, we have acted on Zuma. He's not a member, and we are not going to respond to anything else because it seeks to divert us from this occasion of the party's 113th celebration. He had an opportunity to send his love letter many days ago, but he chose this day because that's how he operates; he thrives on disunity and only serves himself. He's a liar and unreliable and serves only himself. The ANC will treat him with the same intensity going forward. He can take us to court; we will defend our movement," added Mbalula.