By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE:Former President and current Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party founder Jacob Zuma has finally been expelled from the African National Congress(ANC) he once led, the Mail and Guardian reported on Sunday. 

This comes after the ANC’s national National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal upheld the decision of the party’s National Disciplinary Appeal to expel Zuma from the party.

Zuma launched the breakaway party last December while claiming to still be a member of the ANC, a strategy which paid off at the polls on 29 May when MK party took 14% of the vote-and the parliamentary majority the ANC had held since 1994.

The former President was suspended and charged in terms of the ANC’s constitution, with the committee finding against him and expelling him last month, a decision which he appealed.

It has been reported that, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said in a statement on Friday afternoon that Zuma’s behaviour had been the “highest form of ill-discipline” and had been a direct attack on the historical mission of the ANC.

“By establishing and leading a rival political party, he abandoned the core values of organisational loyalty and collective accountability, converting himself into a tool for destabilisation. As a former president of the ANC, Mr Zuma was expected to embody the highest standards of disciplined leadership and advanced cadres who serve as guides and inspiration for all members of our movement and society”, she said.