Jacob Zuma resumes MK party campaign after hospitalisation
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Citizen Digital
Jacob Zuma, former South African president and leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe party, resumed campaigning with a speech in Durban, his first public appearance since his hospitalisation in October. He addressed supporters three days before the 4 November municipal elections, reports AFP.
Former South African president Jacob Zuma resumed his party’s campaign on Sunday, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), at a rally in Durban, three days before the 4 November municipal elections. It was his first public appearance since his hospitalisation in October, reports Citizen Digital, citing SABC among others.
Aged 84, Jacob Zuma gave no details about his health. “Thank you, I am back,” he said at the beginning of a 45-minute speech. In KwaZulu-Natal province, his political stronghold, several polls give the MK party support close to 50%, a level that could allow it to govern without a coalition partner, according to Citizen Digital.
The MK party, which emerged from a split with the African National Congress (ANC), hopes to achieve a strong result in Durban and KwaZulu-Natal. Its local candidate Derick Mkhize said Jacob Zuma’s return had given him renewed strength. Launched a few months before the 2024 general elections, the party has become South Africa’s third political force, according to Citizen Digital. This resumption of campaigning comes after the selection of MK candidates for the municipal elections, including Bongani Baloyi in Johannesburg, announced on 30 October for the Johannesburg mayoralty.
