Former President Jacob Zuma has signalled his intention to “return” to the helm of the country’s government, saying his presidency was ended prematurely.
He made the remarks while addressing a church service of the Nazareth Baptist Church (the Shembe church) in Ndwedwe, north of Durban, on Saturday afternoon.
The former president recently said that he will not be campaigning or voting for the ANC in this year’s national government elections, accusing the party of having “lost its way”.
Zuma is leading a new political formation, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, and has been criss-crossing the country campaigning for it.
On Sunday, he was expected to campaign in Pietermaritzburg. A video circulating on social media said to be of the crowds outside the Pietermaritzburg YMCA, coupled with packed venues at its events, has shown the party’s rising popularity with the electorate.
WATCH: Former president Jacob Zuma arriving to meet Nazareth Baptist Church leader inkosi Mduduzi Shembe. pic.twitter.com/WvwrEUjlMq
— Willem phungula (@PhungulaWillem) January 9, 2024
A large group of young people were singing and marching outside the hall as they waited for Zuma.
In a video from the Shembe church service, Zuma made it clear that he has unfinished business in government.
“As you all recall, I was forced out of office before my term as a president had ended. I was forced out because I was fighting for the poor, trying to make their lives better.
“But the way they (the current government) have behaved, has forced me to make a comeback. I am now coming back because I want to fix the challenges of this community (South Africans),” he told members of the church.
Political analysts were divided on the meaning of the statement, with one saying this was posturing and campaigning for the new party and should not be read in a literal sense, adding that Zuma has no real intention of pursuing the presidency.
Former president Jacob Zuma says he would not tolerate corruption in the MK pic.twitter.com/Mq7W3zs6mH
— Willem phungula (@PhungulaWillem) January 12, 2024
Analyst Siyabonga Ntombela said Zuma has a lot to lose by attempting to return to Parliament and this could be a smokescreen while he looks for a candidate to anoint to lead the new party.
“Zuma is not coming back as a Member of Parliament, that should be our understanding of the whole thing.
He knows that the moment he is pronounced as a Member of Parliament, he will lose all the benefits of being a former president, from VIP protection security, to his pension because he cannot hold two packages,” said Ntombela, adding that Zuma was unlikely to part with those benefits.
Zuma was unlikely to take the risk of letting go of the presidential packages in the hope that he is re-elected as president and regains them, he said.
“What I think he is trying to do is to pave a way for whoever he thinks can run this organisation. My reading of this is that some of the people he has pronounced on (who are members), I do not think that it is those people he wants.
“I think it is someone from the family, there is Duduzile (Zuma’s daughter) who has not started her own party like Duduzane (Zuma’s son), who could be a leader or Member of Parliament.”
He said the resignation of Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma from Parliament would also need to be watched as it does not seem to be by accident.
Professor Musa Xulu, social, cultural and political analyst, said Zuma sounded bitter that the ANC recalled him in 2018.
“While there has been lots of speculation about Zuma’s plan around the MK Party, his recorded speech at the Nazareth Baptist Church showed that he has ambitions to run for the SA Presidency in the 2024 elections,” he said.
The Mercury