Infighting in the ANC has once again played out in the broader political arena. Former president Jacob Zuma (81) has declared his refusal to vote or campaign for the ANC in the 2024 elections. Instead, he will make his X with a new party, Umkhonto We Sizwe, which has not yet announced its leadership structure.

December 16 marks Reconciliation Day for South Africans and the 62nd anniversary of the ANC's disbanded paramilitary wing Umkhonto weSizwe. The public holiday also marks the day corruption-accused former president Jacob Zuma disavowed the governing ANC in the run-up to the highly anticipated 2024 elections.

In a packed room at the YMCA in Orlando, Soweto, Zuma declared at a media briefing, to which members of the public were invited, that he could not in good conscience campaign or vote for the party he has been a part of for 62 years.

Instead, the embattled former president has opted to shuffle across the political aisle and throw his weight behind the newly registered party Umkhonto We Sizwe, named after the ANC's military wing during apartheid.

Before Zuma's announcement, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula had already said the ruling party intended challenging the new party, saying the name belonged to the ANC.

Zuma is facing multiple counts of corruption relating to bribes he is alleged to have taken from French arms manufacturing company Thales for the 1999 Arms Deal worth more than $1-billion. He has, however, been involved in protracted court interventions - including a bid to secure the removal of...