The African National Congress (ANC) officially severed ties with its former leader, Jacob Zuma, on Monday, expelling him from the party after his involvement in forming a rival political group.
Zuma, a once-celebrated anti-apartheid hero, has been a prominent figure in the ANC for decades.
However, his presidency and leadership were marred by corruption scandals that damaged the party's reputation.
Pressured to resign as South Africa’s president in 2018, Zuma later leveraged his considerable political influence to campaign for uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), a rival party.
In May, MK achieved a significant political milestone by securing the third-highest number of votes in the national election, preventing the ANC from winning an outright majority for the first time since the end of apartheid 30 years ago.
At 82, Zuma now leads MK, which holds 58 out of the 400 seats in Parliament and is poised to challenge the ANC’s dominance.
Fikile Mbalula, ANC Secretary-General, stated that Zuma was expelled for "actively impugning the integrity of the ANC" and attempting to undermine the party’s power.
According to an ANC statement, the former leader "... campaigned to dislodge the ANC from power, while claiming that he had not severed his membership. This conduct is irreconcilable with the spirit of organisational discipline and letter of the ANC Constitution."
The former leader has also "been running on a dangerous platform that casts doubt on our entire constitutional edifice. He had meted out a host of anti-revolutionary outbursts, including mischievously calling into question the credibility of our electoral processes without cause and discrediting the rationale of our judicial system."
MK responded to media reports that Zuma had been expelled in a statement earlier on Monday, criticizing the ANC's process and condemning "grave injustices" against Zuma.
"President Zuma will engage his legal team to urgently determine the course of action," it said.
Zuma has been given 21 days to appeal the decision.
