JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma survived a car accident overnight when his vehicle was hit by a ‘drunk driver’, but his newly created opposition group termed it a deliberate attempt to assassinate the leader.
The opposition accused the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party of being involved in the incident. A spokesman for Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party in a statement said, “Two car accidents in a space of a year and a half, both accidents committed by purported ‘drunk drivers’ who manage to drive directly into President Zuma’s motorcade.”
Zuma’s spokesman, Nhlamulo Ndhlela termed the incident a deliberate attempt to assassinate the President.
He further said the party had “been monitoring and observing a sequence of inter-related events” that Zuma faced under the “Cyril Ramaphosa government”. He believed that the incidents are linked to Zuma announcing in December that he would be campaigning for the MK party in bid to relaunch his political career.
A former veteran of the ruling ANC, Zuma, was forced out of office in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations but still wields political clout.
The latest car accident happened on Thursday just hours after electoral officials barred Zuma from standing in the May 29 general election, further stoking tensions ahead of the vote.
The South African Police Service said the driver’s car “collided with former president Mr Jacob Zuma’s official armoured state vehicle”.
A 51-year-old man was arrested in KwaZulu Natal province on suspicion of drink-driving and reckless and negligent driving,” the police said.
Zuma (81) and his bodyguards escaped unharmed and later the president was taken to his residence.
On Wednesday, the ANC filed a new court application against MK after losing an initial bid to disqualify the party.
The ANC said MK’s name and logo were similar to the defunct apartheid-era military wing of the ANC once led by Nelson Mandela, which could mislead voters.
Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma Zuma said on X that the car crash was not an accident.
“Please don’t insult our intelligence, we are not supporters of Ramaphosa”, she wrote.
