South Africa’s ruling ANC takes rival party to court in fractious buildup to election

The African National Congress (ANC), which is in power in South Africa, is suing the independent electoral authority and a rival political party led by a former president, highlighting the contentious atmosphere leading up to what may be the most important election in the nation’s history.

When the uMkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation) party was registered in September, the ANC claims that it did not satisfy the necessary requirements. On Tuesday, the case began in the Electoral Court located in Bloemfontein, the capital city.

The result may be the deregistration and disqualification of the newly formed MK party, which is headed by President Jacob Zuma, a former ANC leader and former president of South Africa, from running in the May 29 national election. Officials from MK have said that they would not accept disqualification; one has threatened “civil war.”

MK has roiled the ANC by using the name of its now disbanded military wing that was founded by Nelson Mandela. The ANC is challenging the use of the uMkhonto weSizwe name and a logo that is very similar to that of its old military wing in a separate court case dealing with copyright infringement.

The decision by Zuma to pledge his support to MK added another element to the bitter rivalry. The parties have traded insults over the last few months. ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula called Zuma “the most destructive person” for South Africa’s democratic progression and referred to officials in the new party as his “chihuahuas.”

Zuma was forced to step down as South Africa’s leader in 2018 amid corruption allegations and is currently on trial for graft, although that case has faced long delays. He has been highly critical of the ANC under his successor, current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Zuma was suspended from the ANC after publicly backing MK. He attended Tuesday’s hearing at the Electoral Court, as did Mbalula.

The ANC has governed South Africa for 30 years since the end of the apartheid system of racial segregation in 1994, but is expected to face its sternest test in this year’s vote. Several polls predict that the ANC will lose its majority for the first time and be forced into a coalition to remain in government.

The most recent poll conducted in February and March said MK could become the third biggest party in South Africa after its first national election, boosted by large support in Zuma’s home KwaZulu-Natal province, where it is expected to eat into the ANC’s vote.

The ANC has denied the court case is a reaction to the political threat posed by MK and Zuma.

MK’s response to the court case also has troubled South Africans, especially comments made by Visvin Reddy, a party official in KwaZulu-Natal. “Hear me very carefully,” Reddy said in a speech earlier this month. “This country will be turned into civil war the day that MK is not allowed to campaign and be on the ballot paper. No one will vote. No one in this country will vote. We will make sure of it.”

Reddy later apologized but the threat of violence as a result of Zuma’s claims of injustice are taken seriously after more than 350 people died in a week of rioting in 2021 when the former president was sent to jail for contempt of court.

The looting, burning and killing was South Africa’s worst unrest since the last days of apartheid. A report linked the violence to anger over poverty and unemployment, but some close to Zuma were accused of instigating it.