By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
Despite all his efforts to build uMkhonto Wesizwe into a real political force in South Africa, as things stand Jacob Zuma has no chance of becoming a Member of Parliament.
While Zuma was released early from his 15-month jail term for contempt of court, the guilty verdict and subsequent sentence means he now has a criminal record.
Zuma cannot hold any public office; he cannot be a mayor, a premier, an MP or a president.
He can however be elected president of his uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party at their elective conference and can lead their campaigns.
But the IEC says Zuma cannot be on the provincial and national list of his new party because Section 47(e) of the Constitution blocks anyone with a jail sentence of more than 12 months from contesting an election.
On Saturday Zuma asked the leader of the Nazareth Baptist Church to pray for him to return to the presidency.
“As you all know I was removed from office before the end of my term,” Zuma told the congregation of the Shembe Church in Durban.
“I was kicked out because I was trying to help the poor. And the way they are now running the country has forced me to come out of retirement and back to active politics.
“I am coming back now because I really want to fix the sad situation of ordinary people,” said Zuma on his knees seeking blessings from the church.
Zuma was removed from office before finishing his term of office after evidence of state capture during his two terms in power which became known as the nine wasted years of South Africa’s democratic dispensation.
That Zuma is not eligible to be on the list of his one-month-old uMkhonto Wesizwe party does not mean he will not be a major political player in the country.
If elected president of the MK party, Zuma will dictate how MK MPs vote on issues in Parliament.
He will also make decisions about which coalitions to support in provinces where no political party secures a clear majority.
Such provinces may include the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where the ruling party is under pressure from a coalition of the DA and the resurgent IFP.
The DA won the Western Cape by just 52.4% in the 2019 national general elections, when DA support in the country fell for the first time.
