South Africa’s ruling party, ANC, suspends ex-president Zuma’s membership

In a widely anticipated move, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party suspended former President Jacob Zuma on Monday, just months before the presidential election.

In a statement on X, the ANC accused Zuma of insubordination and justified his suspension due to "exceptional circumstances." The decision comes after months of conflict between Zuma and current President Cyril Ramaphosa, tarnishing the image of the party that has governed South Africa since the end of white minority rule three decades ago.

Zuma, who still enjoys widespread popularity, poses a threat to the party, which has been struggling to maintain the popular support it once had.

Here’s what we know about Zuma’s suspension and why he fell out with the ANC:

In a statement following a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), ANC general secretary Fikile Mbalula said the party suspended Zuma primarily because he had supported another political party without formally leaving the ANC.

In December, Zuma denounced the ANC leadership and announced that he would vote for the newly formed party uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) or Spear of the Nation, named after the defunct military wing of the ANC that resisted apartheid rule but was disbanded following South African independence. Zuma later stated that he would retain his ANC membership.

This seemed to bother the ANC, which has experienced reduced support in recent elections due to high unemployment and poverty rates in one of the world’s most economically unequal countries.

The ANC statement said, "Zuma is actively undermining the integrity of the ANC and campaigning to remove the ANC from power while claiming that he has not terminated his membership." The statement continued, "Zuma and others whose conduct conflicts with our values and principles will find themselves outside the ANC."

The ANC leadership also plans to close down the MK party by submitting complaints to an electoral court and trademarking the name.