Former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) on Monday accused the African National Congress (ANC) of using apartheid-era tactics following his expulsion from the former ruling party over the weekend.

The MKP hit back against a supposed leaked ruling from the ANC’s National Disciplinary Committee that the former ANC leader had been expelled as a party member following his hearing last week.  

Zuma founded the MKP in December 2023, while still a member of the ANC. The former ruling party then charged Zuma, ahead of the 2024 elections, for his support of the MKP, in violation of the party’s constitution.

The MKP said, on behalf of Zuma, it was shocked and dismayed to learn from the media of Zuma’s expulsion. It claimed the alleged leak of the ANC’s report was a deliberate attempt by ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa  to undermine Zuma.

“Alarmingly, neither President Zuma nor his designated representative, Comrade Tony Yengeni, were informed of this ruling—a stark violation of both the ANC Constitution and the Constitution of South Africa. It is a foundational legal principle that no individual, not even those accused of serious crimes, should be punished or sentenced in their absence. This principle is designed to protect against miscarriages of justice, which sadly, this scenario closely mirrors, resembling a trial conducted through the media,” the MKP said in a statement.

It said the ANC’s disciplinary process was flawed and that the party exhibited “contradictory behaviour”.

It accused ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula of intimidating Yengeni, which it said tainted the procedural integrity of the disciplinary process.

“This leak is not an isolated incident but the climax of a series of repressive actions that disturbingly echo tactics once used during apartheid - an era from which the current ANC leadership under Ramaphosa and its coalition partners, the [Democratic Alliance], seem to have drawn inspiration,” the MKP said.

According to the party, Zuma will consult with his lawyers on a way forward.