Latest news with #JacobZuma
Russia Today
7 minutes ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Western media demonizes Russia – Zuma's daughter
Pan-African Parliament representative Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has dismissed Western criticism of Russia as deliberate propaganda. In an interview with RT, Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, said Western narratives deflect from what she described as efforts to 'rescue the world from unnecessary issues from the West.' 'They [Western news outlets] are just trying to make Russia an enemy, and I don't think that is correct,' she said. Zuma-Sambudla also criticized the continued military and political interference by Western powers across Africa, calling it a major obstacle to regional stability and self-reliance. Citing recent developments in West Africa and the Sahel, she described the withdrawal of French forces from countries such as Senegal as involuntary. 'They didn't pull out, they were asked to leave,' she said, arguing that this reflect a growing desire among African nations to 'resolve African problems alone,' free from external influence. 'We always have interference. And interference is actually what makes the problems even bigger.' Asked whether South Africa should continue to value its relationship with the US, Zuma-Sambudla questioned why it is still seen as a strategic partner. She noted that South Africa's liberation movement once asked the US for assistance during the Apartheid era, but received no support, in contrast to Russia, which provided aid. 'We [South Africans] cherish the Russian relationship, because when we asked for help, they helped us,' she said. Reflecting on leaders who have challenged the dominance of the US dollar, Zuma-Sambudla noted former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's push for a pan-African gold dinar. She suggested that proposals such as this may have played a role in his downfall. 'We're working on the BRICS currency, and all of a sudden, Putin is a problem. So, it's just a trend.' In the interview, Zuma expressed support for RT and criticized the South African government's decision to block the channel amid international sanctions on Russia. She pledged that her party, the uMkhonto weSizwe movement, would reopen RT's access if it comes to power.
News24
4 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
ANC moves to block Zuma's bid to return to party
Former president Jacob Zuma has filed a court challenge to overturn the ANC's disciplinary process that led to his expulsion, arguing procedural flaws and intimidation by ANC officials. Zuma claims the ANC's national disciplinary committee unilaterally scheduled hearings when his representatives were unavailable and accuses secretary-general Fikile Mbalula of intimidation during the process. The ANC has filed a notice to oppose Zuma's application and promises to submit its answering documents at a later stage. The ANC has moved to block former president Jacob Zuma's bid to return to the party, filing court papers to oppose his legal challenge against his expulsion. City Press understands that the party filed a notice of intention to oppose Zuma's Johannesburg High Court application on 25 July, in which he argues his disciplinary process was unlawful and seeks reinstatement to the ANC. Zuma's application at the same court, filed on 8 July, shows that the Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) leader contends that the process leading to his expulsion as a member of the ANC in November last year was 'irregular and illegal'. He claims that the ANC's national disciplinary committee (NDC) unilaterally determined the hearing dates despite his representatives being unavailable at the time, on 23 July last year. In the notice, the ANC, with President Cyril Ramaphosa cited as a respondent, indicates that its answering papers and all the necessary documents to substantiate its case will be submitted at a later stage. The ANC and Cyril Ramaphosa hereby give notice of the intention to oppose the notice of motion and appoint the address at the attorneys set out in the notice of motion as the address where all documents in the matter will be served ANC legal papers The contentious legal action by Zuma comes as the ANC's disciplinary committee found him guilty of 'prejudicing the integrity' of the party by joining the MKP and has given him three weeks to appeal against its ruling. In his court papers, he highlights procedural flaws that led to the verdict of his expulsion. A pre-hearing conference was not held, despite being expressly directed by the NDC. 'A pre-hearing conference is an important feature of a fair hearing and not just a mere optional formality,' his papers state. Zuma also alleges that his representatives were subjected to intimidation at the hands of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. According to the court papers, Mbalula allegedly sent WhatsApp messages to Tony Yengeni, Zuma's representative in the hearing. The alleged messages from Mbalula to Yengeni read: 'Who do you think you are, to destroy the ANC, and who are you, Tony?' Zuma further states that Yengeni regarded Mbalula's actions as bizarre and unconstitutional. 'He correctly regarded Mbalula's conduct as insulting, intimidating and a breach of the spirit of the ANC constitution. I agreed with his view and, after he reported the incident to me, I instructed him to raise it with the NDC at the earliest convenience, in the hope that the ANC would take appropriate action against such blatant misconduct,' read the court papers. He further asserts that the ANC failed to provide him with the heads of argument, an omission he regards as a violation of his constitutional rights.
eNCA
12 hours ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Madlanga inquiry work under scrutiny
JOHANNESBURG - The MK Party and its President, Jacob Zuma, were arguing on Wednesday that the decision of President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry should be declared invalid. It comes just two days after the chair of the commission, Mbuyiseli Madlanga, said the Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, has started its work in earnest. It will centre on explosive claims made by the KZN Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about a criminal syndicate extending its tentacles into SAPS and other arms of criminal justice.
eNCA
12 hours ago
- Business
- eNCA
Controversial Bain & Company shuts up shop in SA
JOHANNESBURG - Bain and Co has decided to shut up shop in South Africa. The mega consultancy firm suffered huge reputational damage when it was embroiled in a corruption scandal involving former President, Jacob Zuma. The Nugent Commission in 2018 looked at how SARS was restructure according to a BAIN plan to become a shadow of its former self. The Zondo Commission of Inquiry found that Bain colluded with Zuma and a former SARS commissioner, Tom Moyane, to seize SARS and weaken it deliberately. The commission said it was one of the clearest cases of state capture. British politician, former UK Cabinet Minister, Lord Peter Hain, who has ties to SA and has been vocal about Bain and Company.
The Star
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
The MKP's two-faced foreign relations on Western Sahara
THE Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a complete African Union (AU) member state and is recognised by more than 40 United Nations (UN) member states. Despite decades of occupation by Morocco and the ongoing struggle for self-determination, its existence is a testament to the resilience of its people and the enduring principles of international law regarding decolonisation. The UN classified this contested territory as a non-self-governing territory in 1963, following Spain's submission of information under Article 73(e) of the UN Charter. However, the territory has remained in a state of legal limbo despite multiple resolutions, diplomatic interventions and a protracted conflict involving Morocco, the Polisario Front and Algeria. This status affirms that the Sahrawi people have yet to exercise their right to self-determination under international law. The recent political stunt by Jacob Zuma's Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party), which dismissed this right as 'Balkanisation', reflects a troubling ahistorisation of a people's identity and a flagrant disregard for international legal norms. South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) relied on its reputation for principled support of the occupied peoples. The MK Party's stance on Western Sahara would cripple this moral standing, inviting accusations of hypocrisy. Worse, Zuma's use of the national flag during party-to-government talks with Morocco was improper, as he acted solely in his MK Party capacity, not in any official national role. In an op-ed, MK Party parliamentarian Mzanyele Manyi attempts to reframe the party's position as a rejection of 'Eurocentric binaries' and a commitment to precolonial African structures. A closer examination reveals a deeply contradictory and, frankly, two-faced approach that undermines the very principles the MK Party claims to uphold. Manyi's argument hinges on a romanticised and selective interpretation of history, conveniently overlooking the realities of international law and the fundamental right to self-determination that the AU has consistently championed. To suggest that Western Sahara was merely 'integrated with Morocco' through 'trade, kinship and religious institutions' before colonialism, and that this somehow equates to legitimate sovereignty, is to deliberately blur the lines between historical influence and political dominion. While precolonial connections existed, they do not negate the distinct identity of the Saharawi people or their internationally recognised right to choose their destiny. The assertion that Moroccan Sultans exercised 'spiritual and political suzerainty' akin to the British monarch's role over the Commonwealth is a disingenuous comparison. Based on colonial logics, the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of so-called independent states. Thus, it does not provide a historical justification for territorial claims over a people who have consistently sought their statehood. Furthermore, equating Morocco's actions in Western Sahara to an 'African character' while simultaneously dismissing the Saharawi's struggle for independence as 'intellectually lazy and historically dishonest' reveals a profound bias. Who, then, defines 'African character' in this narrative? Is it only those who align with pre-colonial monarchies, regardless of the aspirations of indigenous populations? Nevertheless, the 1975 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion found no ties of territorial sovereignty between Western Sahara and Morocco. Manyi's dismissal of this advisory opinion as 'just that… an opinion, not a binding judgment' is a classic legal evasion, as it ignores its foundational role in the UN and AU's stance on decolonisation. While advisory opinions are not directly binding in the same way as contentious judgments, they carry significant legal weight and are highly influential in international law. The ICJ explicitly stated that it 'did not find any ties of territorial sovereignty between the territory of Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco or the Mauritanian entity'. This critical finding, conveniently downplayed by Manyi, directly challenges the MK Party's narrative of historical Moroccan suzerainty. To suggest that those who rely on this opinion are 'disingenuously using it as a hammer' is to accuse the international legal framework itself of being disingenuous when it doesn't align with the MK Party's preferred outcome. Furthermore, it is crucial to recall that Spain's 1975 tripartite agreement with Morocco and Mauritania, which ceded administrative control of Western Sahara without a referendum, was a direct violation of UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) on the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which affirms the right to self-determination for all colonial territories. The MK Party's purported 'rejection of the Balkanisation of Africa' is perhaps the most glaring hypocrisy. For a party to claim it stands 'firmly against the further splintering of our continent into externally sponsored micro-states' while simultaneously advocating for the annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco is a monumental contradiction. The Saharawi Republic is a member of the AU, recognised by a significant number of African states, including South Africa. Its struggle is one of decolonisation and self-determination, not 'external sponsorship' designed to create a 'micro-state' for foreign interests. This is a classic case of projection, where the MK Party attributes to the Saharawi what many accuse Morocco of pursuing: territorial expansion under the guise of historical claims. The appeal to 'African sovereignty' and the 'legitimacy of political structures that preceded colonial conquest,' specifically the Moroccan monarchy, is a dangerous precedent. While respecting indigenous institutions is crucial, it cannot come at the expense of human rights or the universally accepted principle of self-determination. If the MK Party genuinely champions African Renaissance, it should uphold the rights of all African peoples, not just those aligned with powerful historical monarchies. To suggest that the AU's decision to readmit Morocco was purely an act of 'African agency' without considering geopolitical manoeuvring or economic influence is naive at best and intellectually dishonest at worst. Morocco had voluntarily left the continental body in 1984 because it disagreed with the decision of the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), to admit the Sahrawi Republic as a full member — effectively refusing to share a room with the very people it claims to share heritage and historical ties with. What Manyi omits to mention is that Western Sahara suffered a similar fate to that of black South Africans during the 1960s, when Britain conferred political independence on Afrikaners. Spain ceded the territory to Rabat instead of the Sahrawi people, leading to a political standoff with Mauritania, which had also made a concurrent claim. Following the colonial terra nullius myth, Afrikaners also make false claims that the land was empty or unused prior to their arrival and that Black South Africans were latecomers, erasing centuries of indigenous presence, land use, and political organisation by African communities. Moroccans follow almost an identical logic in Western Sahara, portraying the territory as historically ungoverned or inherently part of Morocco, thus denying the Sahrawi people's longstanding political identity and their right to self-determination. Like Zambia and others, MK Party appears to have also fallen under the spell of the despotic foreign policy of a pariah state that seeks validation from former colonial powers. In effect, Morocco exercises what Moses Ochonu calls 'colonialism by proxy', a form of indirect rule on behalf of European interests eager to exploit Western Sahara's rich mineral wealth, particularly phosphates and iron ore, without Sahrawi consent. Phosphates are crucial for fertiliser production and global agriculture. Morocco's extractivist agenda violates international law and entrenches neocolonial control over resources that rightfully belong to the Sahrawi people. The export of phosphates from Boucraa has been the subject of international legal challenges, including rulings by the European Court of Justice that trade agreements with Morocco cannot legally include resources from Western Sahara without the consent of the Sahrawi people. Beyond phosphates, Morocco has developed significant wind and solar farms in the occupied territory, such as Nareva's 50MW Foum el Oued farm, specifically powering the Bou Craa phosphate mines. Furthermore, European Union (EU) and Russian fishing fleets continue to plunder Western Sahara's rich Atlantic waters under trade agreements that, per ECJ rulings, cannot lawfully apply to Sahrawi territory. Similarly, Morocco has permitted large-scale agribusiness exports, including citrus and tomatoes, using water-intensive farming on occupied Sahrawi land, exacerbating local water scarcity and environmental degradation. Under international law, primarily UN General Assembly Resolution 1803 (1962) on permanent sovereignty over natural resources, the Sahrawi people are the rightful owners of these resources. However, as the territory remains non-self-governing and partially occupied by Morocco, any extraction or export without their free, prior and informed consent is considered illegal by many legal scholars, the AU and the UN. Despite international efforts to find a resolution, including the Baker Plans (Baker I and Baker II), which proposed varying degrees of autonomy for Western Sahara followed by a referendum on self-determination, viable alternatives remain underdeveloped. These UN-backed proposals, though at times accepted by one party and rejected by the other, represent pathways that prioritise the Sahrawi people's right to choose, offering a stark contrast to Morocco's unilateral autonomy initiative. Beyond the MK Party's internal contradictions, Rabat's international manoeuvring also merits scrutiny. France's 2024 endorsement of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, following the US recognition, indicates a concerning shift by major powers, prioritising geopolitical interests over international law and Western Sahara's self-determination. This trend is further amplified by Morocco's strategic utilisation of Israel normalisation, particularly through the Abraham Accords. This exploits a complex regional dynamic to garner global support for its occupation, at the expense of established principles of decolonisation and human rights. The MK Party's position on Western Sahara, as articulated by Manyi, is not a nuanced 'African-centred reading of history'. It is a thinly veiled justification for an international relations position that prioritises a selective historical narrative and the interests of a specific state over the fundamental right of a people to determine their future. MK Party's stance effectively legitimises resource theft disguised as anti-Western posturing. Therefore, the MK Party's foreign relations strategy is not only inconsistent but also fundamentally two-faced: it champions African unity and decolonisation in rhetoric, while actively undermining it in practice, particularly concerning the Saharawi people. The 'ghosts of colonial borders' that Manyi wishes to reject seem to linger quite strongly in the MK Party's approach, but only when it suits their political agenda. There is a need to address the MKP's rhetoric-reality gap, evident in their endorsement of Morocco's 'autonomy plan' as 'decolonisation' while simultaneously silencing Sahrawi self-determination. This constitutes a colonial proxy masked in anti-Western slogans. Siyayibanga le economy! * Siyabonga Hadebe is an independent commentator based in Geneva on socio-economic, political and global matters. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media, or IOL. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
