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South Africa is a democracy conducted according to the rule of law with a genuinely independent judiciary. While post-apartheid South Africa has made progress in addressing extreme poverty among the black majority, the white minority (just under 8 percent of the population) dominates the economy and enjoys a first-world standard of living, while that of the black majority has been compared to Cameroon. The African National Congress (ANC), the party which has dominated government since the end of apartheid in 1994, is a mélange of democratic and “liberation” assumptions and procedures. Once multiracial, the ANC is now largely a Black […]

Faced with losing a scheduled parliamentary no-confidence vote on February 15, Jacob Zuma resigned from the presidency of South Africa in a broadcast to the nation in the evening on February 14. The governing African National Congress (ANC) and its large parliamentary majority moved quickly to elect deputy president and current party leader Cyril Ramaphosa […]

Zuma is not out yet, but he will be by February 15. Today, Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete moved the motion of no confidence originally scheduled for February 22 to Thursday, February 15. The vote will not be by secret ballot, so the public will know if any MP votes for Zuma. Most, if not […]

The scandal-plagued leader’s removal could set the party of Nelson Mandela on a path toward reestablishing South Africa as a role model for the rest of the continent.

Show Notes In this episode of Africa in Transition, John Campbell and Allen Grane catch up with Simon Freemantle, senior political economist at Standard Bank Research. Recorded days before President Jacob Zuma’s removal of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, the podcast addresses the complex factors at play in South African politics.

President Jacob Zuma survived the August 8, opposition-instigated no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, this time by secret ballot and by a narrow margin. There were 177 votes in favor of the no-confidence resolution, and 198 against, with 9 abstentions.  (There are 400 seats in the National Assembly, with Zuma’s African National Congress holding 249.) […]

As part of a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle, President Jacob Zuma has fired highly respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, along with other long-time stalwarts of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Gordhan and Jonas had long opposed pet projects of the president, and Gordhan has become the symbol of reform and […]

On February 9, President Jacob Zuma will deliver South Africa’s annual State of the Nation speech in parliament. The substance of the speech is likely to be a mixture of policy stability with calls for “radical” transformation of ownership of the economy. Few expect that the speech will really break new ground or that it […]

… South African judiciary has reaffirmed the rule of law by sending to jail former President <em>Jacob</em> <em>Zuma</em> for contempt of court. The judiciary followed the spirit and the letter of …

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has sentenced former President Jacob Zuma to fifteen months in prison for defying a court order to appear before the Zondo Commission, which is investigating charges of corruption during Zuma’s 2009-2018 presidency. As the court is the highest in the land, Zuma cannot appeal. Nine justices ruled. All agreed that Zuma […]

Easy to overlook among the COVID-19 headlines is a positive development involving the prosecution of former President Jacob Zuma. It has the potential for reaffirming, perhaps reanimating, South African commitment to the rule of law and trust in government, which flagged considerably during Zuma’s tenure. For the past decade, Zuma has fought charges and indictments […]

… democratic values and the rule of law were severely tested during the presidential administration of <em>Jacob</em> <em>Zuma</em>, which lasted from 2009 to 2018. <em>Zuma</em>'s administration was tarnished by accelerating …

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is the official opposition to the governing African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa’s parliament. It is the second largest party in the country in terms of electoral support, and it is the only party to have increased its share of the vote in every election since 1999. It holds 89 […]

… few months exorcizing the corrupt and incoherent eight-year reign of Mr. Ramaphosa’s predecessor, <em>Jacob</em> <em>Zuma</em>. The coming months will reveal the depths of corruption that marked the <em>Zuma</em> …

The impending departure of Jacob Zuma as president of South Africa was expected following the defeat of his preferred candidate in the African National Congress’s (ANC) elections for party leader. A Council Expert’s Brief provides an analysis of Zuma’s departure from office and the way forward for the ANC. In the meantime, readers may find helpful […]

The impending resignation of Jacob Zuma as president of South Africa was not necessarily unexpected following the defeat of his preferred candidate in the elections for African National Congress (ANC) party leader in December. However, it is happening more quickly than many observers predicted, including this one. A Council Expert’s Brief will soon appear on the […]

According to some South African media outlets, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) determined over the weekend that President Zuma must resign the South African presidency before the annual state of the nation address, which is scheduled for February 8. If Zuma leaves the presidency, current deputy president and leader […]

… Constitutional Court ruled that the parliament had failed in its constitutional obligation to hold President <em>Jacob</em> <em>Zuma</em> accountable for illegal expenditure of public money on his private compound, Nkandla. <em>Zuma</em> …

… responsibility for the party’s reverses in the local elections of 2016 was collective, not <em>Jacob</em> <em>Zuma</em>’s, though he was the party leader. The NEC has eighty members, half …

For those in South Africa and elsewhere devoted to the rule of law, the supremacy of constitutional institutions over individual personalities, and repelled by corruption, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma is odious. He has been credibly accused of being a sexual predator and has more than seven hundred outstanding indictments for corruption to his name. […]