JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
Beleaguered former South African President Jacob Zuma says he is ready to make a surprise return to politics by standing for a top position at the ruling African National Congress’ conference in December — if he is nominated by party members.
The 80-year-old Zuma was
president from 2009 to 2018 before he was forced to resign amid wide-ranging
allegations of corruption in government and state-owned institutions.
He was sentenced to 15 months
in prison last year for defying a court order to testify at a judicial
commission investigating corruption during his tenure, and has since been
released on medical parole.
Zuma is also facing
trial for corruption in a separate case involving a major arms deal
the South African government was negotiating more than 20 years ago, around the
time Zuma was a deputy president of South Africa.
In a statement released late
Monday, Zuma said some ANC members approached him to consider contesting the
position of party chairman at the end of the year.
“I have indicated that I will
be guided by the branches of the ANC and that I will not refuse such a call
should they deem it necessary for me to serve the organization again at that
level or any other,” Zuma said.
The December meeting is
expected to be crucial to the future of the ANC and current President Cyril
Ramaphosa, who faces stiff opposition in getting reelected as party leader and
staying on as the country’s president.
Zuma has been critical of his
successor, and the pair are seen to be part of opposing factions within a
divided ANC.
Zuma also endorsed his
ex-wife, current government minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to stand for
president of the ANC against Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa’s struggle to get a
grip on corruption, a
scandal of his own involving the theft of a large amount of cash from
his ranch, and an
ongoing electricity crisis that has recently left Africa’s most
developed economy in power blackouts for up to 10 hours a day all have weakened
his standing.
Parliament has formed a
three-person panel to investigate if Ramaphosa has a case to answer in the
ranch scandal, in which he is accused of money laundering and breaking foreign
currency laws by holding cash in U.S. dollars at the property.
He also is accused of bribery
for allegedly attempting to
cover up the theft of the money to hide its existence. He has
confirmed the theft took place and denied any wrongdoing but dodged questions
seeking specific information about the incident. Ramaphosa said the money came
from the sale of animals on his game farm.
No criminal charges have been
brought against Ramaphosa, but Parliament could impeach him if lawmakers find
he broke his oath of office. The South African leader is scheduled to appear in
Parliament on Thursday to answer more questions from lawmakers about the theft.
Zuma is still popular among
some factions of the ANC and at the grassroot level in some regions. It’s
unclear how he would deal with an ANC rule that anyone facing criminal charges
is ineligible to stand for leadership positions. The rule also demands that
those occupying leadership positions should “step aside” from their positions
if they are charged.
The
corruption charges Zuma faces are linked to a 1999 arms deal, and the
case covers a time when he was a political figure on the rise and then deputy
president. He is accused of receiving bribes from French arms manufacturer
Thales to provide political protection for the multi-billion dollar deal.
Zuma has denied the charges
and has moved to have the prosecutor taken off the case, claiming he is biased.
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