'I'M BACK!'

ACK!’ Scandal after scandal hits Jacob Zuma, yet nothing ever brings him down. Now he’s plotting his return to parliament and he’s hinted he has his heart set on another term as president

- JANE VORSTER

HE’S like the proverbial cat with nine lives. Nothing ever seems to keep him down – not being sent to jail, being given the boot by his own party, all his legal problems or the fact that many South Africans blame him for a big chunk of the country’s woes.

No matter the scandal or how sure his critics are there’s no way out, Jacob Zuma always seems to have the last laugh. And instead of being happy to spend his days quietly in Nkandla, the wily 82-year-old has made it clear he still has a big role to play in South African politics.

Five years after he reluctantly resigned as president, Zuma has stepped up to lead the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party, which was launched recently to contest the national elections in May.

The man who once declared “the ANC will rule until Jesus Christ returns” is now lending his political clout to a rival party – and to add insult to injury the party has taken the name of the armed wing of the ANC. In another blow to the ANC, MK was successful in its bid to put Zuma’s name in the top spot on its list of election candidates, paving the way for his return to public office.

The Electoral Commission (IEC) originally refused to allow this, saying that as Zuma was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to jail he was precluded in terms of the constitution from serving in the National Assembly.

Yet Zuma’s legal team found a loophole, successfully arguing that because President Cyril Ramaphosa granted Zuma a remission of sentence last year, it rendered his initial 15-month sentence irrelevant. At the time of going to print the IEC had launched a Constitutional Court appeal to contest the decision.