South Africa’s current President, Cyril Ramaphosa, responded to his predecessor Jacob Zuma’s recent statement expressing his intention to support a new party instead of the African National Congress (ANC). Zuma announced his support for the newly registered uMkhonto we Sizwe, named after the ANC’s long-disbanded armed wing, and launched personal attacks on President Ramaphosa, labeling him a “proxy” for white capitalist interests.
During a press conference on Monday afternoon addressing the situation in Gaza, President Ramaphosa provided his first public comments on Zuma’s statements. When questioned about the ANC’s response to Zuma’s announcement, Ramaphosa stated, “What I can say to you is that we all listened to that announcement and we have noted what he has said, what he has announced, and that is as far as we are prepared to go at this point in time.”
He emphasized that everyone in the country has the freedom to express their voting preferences and the reasons behind them, adding, “And everyone in our country is free to express themselves in relation to who they will vote for and why they will vote for them, and we have noted what former President Jacob Zuma has announced.”
