Magashule admits Zuma’s State Capture testimony is likely to divide ANC

Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC), Ace Magashule, has begrudgingly admitted that Jacob Zuma’s testimony before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture is likely to cause further divisions within the party.

The former president’s appearance before deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has already ruffled some political feathers. Almost a year after its formation, the Commission managed to secure vital testimony from Zuma who took the stand on Monday after being implicated in wrongdoing by several politicians and businesspeople.

Jacob Zuma at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture

The allegations have put Zuma at the centre of a nefarious ‘State Capture project’ which was allowed to breed within South Africa’s state entities via gross nepotism and malfeasance. Zuma has, however, consistently denied the allegations against him, labelling the concept of ‘State Capture’ a farce and his purported involvement in it nothing more than a politically subversive witch hunt.

Zuma, during his opening statement to the Commission of Inquiry, argued that a conspiracy to commit ‘character assassination’ had its roots in the unbanning of the ANC in 1990 and was intensified by counter-intelligence efforts which persisted beyond his tenure as president. During his testimony, Zuma shifted the focus to other ANC officials.

Zuma was particularly scathing on former mineral resources minister, Ngoako Ramatlhodi, labelling him a spy. Last year, Ramatlhodi testified that Zuma had ‘auctioned’ the country off to the infamous Gupta family.

Ace Magashule: Testimony likely to divide the ANC

Speaking to SABC News outside the commission’s Parktown headquarters, Magashule, at first, stated that the ANC would support Zuma throughout his testimony, saying:

“Jacob Zuma has been a member of the ANC for many years, long before many of us. He was in exile, he knows who’s who in the ANC. We are here to give the necessary support, to hear what president Zuma is saying as the ANC.”

It’s well-documented that factional infighting within the ruling party – specifically based along loyalist lines – has damaged the ANC’s operational mandate. Magashule, himself, has been thrust into controversy due to his closeness to Zuma and his open defiance of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

While Magashule reaffirmed the ANC’s support for the commission’s directive, he added that public opinion had been divided by erroneous testimony, saying:

“Other people are lying, other people are not lying. Who do you believe? People said ‘let there be a commission’ – the commission is there. Many people have gone to the commission. It’s Zuma’s time, let’s hear him also.”

Finally, Magashule admitted that Zuma’s testimony had the propensity to further damage the ANC. The Secretary General explained divisions within the party were likely to be broadened by the former president’s contentious testimony, saying:

“There are those [within the party] who say Zuma is right [and that] he is not lying. There are those who say he is lying. Within the organisation, there will be those who say this is the real story, others will say there is no real story.

Remember, in any revolution there is counter-revolution.”

When probed further for an answer as to whether these varying opinions would divide the ruling party, Magashule said:

“Probably. It depends how we handle it as the African National Congress, whether we are mature, politically, to deal with the challenges facing the ANC.”