Zuma: Presidential Inauguration is a “Symbolic Wedding of The House Negro Ramaphosa, With The Slave Master, Helen Zille”

Following the boycott of the South African National Assembly's first sitting by Umkhonto WeSizwe party members last Friday, the party has announced its boycott of the Presidential Inauguration set to take place today.

What You Need to Know:

Through the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) with the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Patricia de Lille's GOOD party, and the Patriotic Alliance (PA), the African National Congress's (ANC) Cyril Ramaphosa has secured a second term as President despite the ANC losing parliamentary majority after the country's May 29 election.

The GNU sidelined both Jacob Zuma's Umkhonto WeSizwe (MK) party and Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party.

Consequently, the MK party released a statement discussing their decision to boycott Ramaphosa's inauguration, in which Zuma refers to Ramaphosa as a "house negro" and takes aim at Helen Zille, the DA's Federal Chairperson.

"The Umkhonto WeSizwe Party, the Official Opposition of South Africa, will not participate in the farcical inauguration of Cyril Ramaphosa as the puppet DA-sponsored President tomorrow. We refuse to join in the spitting on the graves of those who died for this freedom by attending the symbolic wedding ceremony of a house negro called Ramaphosa, with the slave master, Helen Zille.

Previously, the Umkhonto WeSizwe Party deliberately boycotted the first sitting of the National Assembly, where members of the unholy, racist DA-ANC coalition voted for each other, betraying our struggle for total freedom and land repossession.

Ramaphosa's 'presidency' is the result of a sellout deal signed by Fikile Mbalula and Helen Zille last week, as well as a rigged and illegal election marked by massive vote rigging and other manipulations by the IEC, through Janet Love, and other state institutions.

How can we celebrate when the ANC has signed another deal with the Freedom Front Plus to recognize and protect the racist enclave called Orania?

By doing so, the ANC surrendered a part of our country and continent to unrepentant racists to secure the position of Premier for Zamani Saul. Similarly, the ANC has sold its soul to the DA to secure the position of President for Ramaphosa.

Clearly, positions matter more to the ANC than the well-being of our people. The Umkhonto WeSizwe Party vows to use all legal means at our disposal to expose, fight, and destroy the incoming illegitimate regime of Ramaphosa, Steenhuisen, and Groenewald. The time is now for all progressive forces to unite against the reintroduction of apartheid and colonialism," the statement said.

So, What Now?

The throwing of sharp words is not uncommon in South African politics. However, since losing against coalitions in the National Assembly and in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Jacob Zuma has adopted an increasingly aggressive stance towards the opposition. Before and after the election, additional police units have been deployed to the province to discourage any politically motivated violence.

Much of Zuma's grievances lie in what he believes was a rigged election, with the former President repeatedly calling for a re-election due to his party providing 'concrete evidence' of MK votes being 'stolen' to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which is the nation's electoral authority.

And Zuma's rhetoric has not gone unheard, with a group of 15 men attempting to break into the IEC's warehouse in Booysens, south of Johannesburg, on Tuesday evening to 'ensure all ballot papers had been counted.'

Nonetheless, the Inauguration of Ramaphosa has, for the first time since July 2023, brought the trading of the Rand to under R18 to $1.