Cape Town, South Africa — Former South African president Jacob Zuma He was expected to face a disciplinary hearing with the African National Congress party on Wednesday, after campaigned against the organization once led as head of a new political party in the national elections in May.
The hearing could lead to Zuma, 82 years old.being expelled from the ANC, which he joined in the late 1950s, when it was a liberation movement fighting against the apartheid system of white minority rule.
Zuma was forced to resign as South African president in 2018 amid corruption allegations and has since become embroiled in a political dispute with President Cyril Ramaphosawho replaced him as leader of the party and the country.
Zuma’s break with the ANC was confirmed in December, when he appeared at a press conference and announced that he would campaign for the newly founded MK Party in the May 29 election. He has been fiercely critical of Ramaphosa.
While Zuma said he would maintain his ANC membership despite becoming leader of the MK Party, the ANC suspended him in January. He said he had attacked the integrity of the party.
It was unclear whether Zuma would attend Wednesday’s hearing at the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg or whether it would be held virtually. MK officials have said he wants to appear in person, while the ANC wants it to be held online.
Zuma has been called a destabilizing figure in Africa’s most industrialized country, but his MK Party won 14% of the national vote in the first election he participated in, surprising many.
MK’s surprising vote share was a major factor in ANC loses its majority for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994, in a historic result for South Africa, which led to the formation of an unprecedented multi-party coalition government.
MK has refused to join the coalition and will become the official opposition as the third largest party in Parliament. Parliament will open on Thursday for a new term.
The election reinforced how popular Zuma remains in some parts of the country despite facing multiple legal battles. He was sentenced to prison in 2021 for contempt of court after refusing to testify in an investigation into alleged corruption during his presidency from 2009 to 2018. he is due go to trial next year over separate corruption allegations related to the era before his presidency.
His prison sentence took him being disqualified from the position for a seat in Parliament in the May election, but has remained the face and leader of the MK Party.
___
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
