Former ANC President Jacob Zuma has admitted that he wants to remain in the ANC to take it over and “rescue” it from its current leadership.
Zuma revealed his intentions in a podcast this week.
Despite his public criticism of the party and his recent expulsion, Zuma claims that he wants to stay within the ANC to "rescue" it from what he sees as a deviation from the values of the party's ancestors.
Last week, Zuma served the ANC with a letter of demand, giving the organisation an ultimatum to reinstate his membership by January 31 or face court action.
In the letter, through his attorney Thabo Kwinana, Zuma claimed that the ANC’s National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) and the National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal (NDCA) did not follow due process in his expulsion, citing irregularities that would likely be upheld by an independent legal review.
In a candid explanation, Zuma stated that he wants to remain a member of the ANC so that he can take over the party and restore its original values.
He believes that the current leadership has strayed from the principles of the party's founders and that he is the one to bring it back on track.
“If I was not a member of that organisation [ANC] it would be very difficult to try to change it from the inside. They would ask what I wanted from their organisation when I was not a member…and that would be the end of the debate,”he said.
He added that although he wanted to remain an ANC member, he would never vote for the party.
“I want to remain there as a member but I'll never vote for them. I'm remaining there deliberately so that I have an opportunity to take over that organisation,” Zuma said.
Zuma's plan to take over the ANC is not a new development. He has been vocal about his disagreements with the party's current leadership and policies.
However, his latest statement reveals a more sinister intention - to infiltrate the party and change its direction from within.
The former president's reasoning is that if he were not a member of the ANC, he would not have the opportunity to effect change from within. He believes that by remaining a member, he can argue his case and convince others to join him in his quest to "rescue" the party.
The ANC has been plagued by internal conflicts and power struggles in recent years. Zuma's plan to take over the party could exacerbate these tensions and lead to further divisions within the ANC.
As the ANC prepares for its next elective conference, Zuma's comments are likely to add fuel to the fire.
In the meantime, Zuma's plan to "rescue" the ANC remains a subject of debate and speculation.
Political Analyst Professor Siphamandla Zondi from the University of Johannesburg says Zuma’s fight with the ANC is premised on the view that the current faction within the party is different to the one he led before.
“Zuma assumes that the current faction is linked to White Monopoly Capital or the liberal right…He thinks that it needs to be responded to and when he failed in two conferences to defeat the faction, he ended up forming the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP).
Zondi said the ANC already had elements of ‘dual membership’ within its ranks.
“So its happening already. The ANC does not desire it but its happening,” Zondi said.
Another political analyst, Sandile Swana, said it was improbable that Zuma would regain his membership.
“He cannot readily rejoin the ANC because he was expelled by the ANC…and when he appeals that process his prosecutors will keep opposing him.
“Zuma has stripped the ANC of structural building material. So that is the conflict between Zuma and the ANC…The ANC does not permit dual membership outside of the tripartite alliance,” Swana said.