The African National Congress (ANC) has postponed the disciplinary hearing against its former President Jacob Zuma to next week Tuesday.
The National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) held the hearing virtually on Wednesday as planned, albeit without Zuma. This after Zuma was a no show, and instead sent ANC veteran Tony Yengeni to represent him.
Zuma is accused of violating the party’s constitution after he declared that he will not support nor campaign for the ANC during the May 29th elections, and instead campaign for the uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) that he is currently leading.
“The committee received representations from the chosen representative of the charged member. The session was held virtually, as previously indicated. After considering the representations made, the NDC ruled that the disciplinary hearing of the charged member will be held on the virtual platform. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, 23 July 2024 at 10:00am.
“A second pre-hearing conference, as requested by the representative of the charged member, to streamline issues, will be held on the virtual platform on Thursday, 18 July 2024 at 12:00,” said ANC acting spokesperson, Zuko Godlimpi.
He reiterated that neither the pre-hearing conference nor the actual disciplinary hearing will be open to the public or the media.
Godlimpi added that the verdict will be announced once the committee has received all arguments.
“We cannot specify the timeline for this process, as it depends on the scope of the deliberations and the issues under consideration,” concluded Godlimpi.
Meanwhile, the MK said Zuma has welcomed the postponement.
“President Zuma is very happy to have been granted this opportunity. Naturally, in the meantime he will consult with his representative and other relevant stakeholders before deciding on his next course of action.
“Until then, he remains of the strongest view that, in these exceptional circumstances, the hearing should not only be physical but that it should also be opened to the public,” read a statement from MK.
