The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has accused authorities of deliberately preventing its leader, former President Jacob Zuma, from attending the State of the Nation Address (SONA).
President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver his SONA at Cape Town City Hall on Thursday evening. However, MK Party chief whip Mzwanele Manyi confirmed that Zuma would not be present at the event.
On the same day, Zuma appeared at the Pietermaritzburg High Court, seeking leave to appeal a ruling that dismissed his bid to remove advocate Billy Downer from his ongoing arms deal corruption case.
Manyi suggested that the timing of the court proceedings was intentionally arranged to coincide with SONA, effectively barring Zuma from attending.
“The people that run South Africa have orchestrated that he should not be here. It was public information that there would be a fake SONA today [Thursday]. Judiciary must have known this. Despite knowing this, they wanted him in court in Pietermaritzburg today.”
While it is customary for former presidents to attend SONA, the MK Party insists that Zuma has been unfairly denied this opportunity.
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