Cape Town – Former president Jacob Zuma has claimed he is being punished for actions taken during his time with the ANC, despite starting anew with the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
The Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma cannot run for election to the National Assembly until five years after completing his 15-month contempt of court sentence.
In a “national address” published on Thursday, Zuma criticised the court’s decision, claiming it prevented him from exercising his “freedom” and “democracy.”
“I have started a new party and I am starting afresh under the party I lead now, but I am punished for other parties that I was (part of) at some point. I don’t understand the democracy that we have,” he said during an interview with JD Afrique.
He added: “I am going to fight for my rights until this country agrees that freedom must be a complete freedom. Not for some and oppression for others … I’ll continue fighting in different ways to convince everyone that I am right and my learned friends are not.”
He vowed to fight for his rights and urged South Africans to correct the country’s wrongs.
The MK party, led by Zuma, plans to strategise their next steps following the court’s ruling.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
