DURBAN, South Africa — Dumisani Ndlovu, 59, has voted in every national election in South Africa since he and the rest of the black majority finally won the right 30 years ago. He has always faithfully supported the African National Congress, a liberation party turned ruling party.
That ends Wednesday. In a way, nostalgia calls. In this week’s election, Ndlovu is throwing his support behind the man, Jacob Zuma, whose career spanned from the liberation struggle to the presidency before falling out with his ANC colleagues and re-emerging last year with a new political party.
That MK party, named after the former armed wing of the ANC, shows how Zuma, 82, is using the past to rally support among South Africans against the ANC, which he once claimed would rule until “Jesus returns.” ”.
Here in the heartland of Zuma supporters’ eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, taxi driver Ndlovu has welcomed the unlikely return of a political survivor after years of corruption allegations, criminal charges and prison. Not even the fact that he was excluded from these elections as a parliamentary candidate due to a recent conviction has weakened Zuma’s influence.
“They think they have finished him, but we are with him at all times. The ANC will pay,” Ndlovu said.
It is a rallying cry that could, for the first time, force the ANC to form a coalition to remain in power. The new party is fielding other candidates for Parliament and looks likely to win seats.
Zuma has become the election wild card for Africa’s most advanced country, six years after resigning as South Africa’s presidency under a cloud. His MK party was formed just over six months ago and yet he is expected to lose significant support from the ANC, which has already faced his toughest test.
Zuma’s credentials – he was imprisoned alongside Nelson Mandela for his work in the anti-apartheid movement – especially resonate in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Ndlovu, the taxi driver, had supported the ANC since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule in 1994. Now, one of his complaints against the ANC is what he calls its mistreatment of Zuma.
“He went to jail during apartheid and then they (the ANC) imprisoned him again despite all his sacrifices. What kind of freedom is that? Ndlovu said.
Zuma was sent to prison in 2021 after refusing to testify in an investigation into alleged corruption in the government during his tenure as president, between 2009 and 2018. He called that sentence an effort by the ANC to silence him.
Zuma said last week’s Constitutional Court decision to disqualify him from standing as a candidate was part of a resentment against him by the ruling party and the courts. The Constitution does not allow anyone to stand for election if he has been sentenced to 12 months or more in prison without the option of a fine.
“I will fight for my rights until this country agrees that freedom must be complete, not for some and oppression for others,” Zuma said.
He now fights under the banner of MK, which he has formed as the vanguard of the ideals of the fight against apartheid, such as the distribution of land to black people.
The party symbol is similar to the logo of the former military wing of the ANC. His full name is uMkhonto weSizwe, which means Spear of the Nation. The ANC took MK to court over the use of the name, which it claims to own. MK won. It was another example of the ANC’s attempt to silence him, Zuma said.
Zuma’s new party is also looking to the future, promising jobs, free education and better healthcare for young people who make up the majority of the country’s population. They do not remember apartheid, but they do have many complaints about the deep inequality that persists.
Zuma claims to be a more authentic version of the ANC and more dedicated to helping South Africa’s poor black majority.
His party’s brand has been well received by supporters for its anti-apartheid nostalgia.
“I have known uMkhonto all my life. He fought for freedom. This time he is there for us again,” Ndlovu said.
Wednesday will see how that loyalty – and the ANC’s irritation with it – could translate into votes.
“It could make people love them (MK) more because the question that arises is: why put so much pressure on this party? There must be something there, and I think people are intrigued and might just go out and vote for them,” she told television station eNCA this week Sanet Madonsela-Solomon, a professor in the political science department at the University of South Africa. .
At MK’s last big campaign rally over the weekend in KwaZulu-Natal, grey-haired men and women in military uniform were joined by young supporters sporting skinny jeans and manicured nails. Together they danced to old anti-apartheid songs that evoked the difficulties of that period. They praised deceased ANC icons such as Mandela and criticized current ANC leaders.
“uMkhonto is not just for the people of KwaZulu-Natal, it is a call for South Africa as a whole,” said one attendee, Siboniso Gwala. “The spear is what will liberate this country. uMkhonto will liberate the black people.”
His 6-year-old son, Nkanyezi, followed behind, singing and wearing a beret with the MK symbol: a warrior with spear and shield.
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