As Jacob Zuma, the founder of the UMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, visits Morocco, his party has issued a call for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign. Last Wednesday, the MK party gave the current head of state and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) a two-day ultimatum to step down. On Friday, July 18, the MK staged a protest outside the presidential palace in Pretoria, demanding Ramaphosa's ouster. They criticized what they termed as the ANC president's «negative record» since he assumed office on February 14, 2018. This development unfolds amid escalating tensions between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA). The latest chapter in this political showdown between the country's two leading parties occurred on Friday, July 18. In a statement, Ramaphosa's party voiced its «concerns over the disinformation campaign led by Democratic Alliance MP Emma Powell against South Africa, and her apparent attempts to undermine the South African government's response to the new U.S. tariff regime». These events echo the turbulent weeks preceding the ousting of Pedro Castillo, a former Polisario ally in Peru, in December 2022. A few months after his arrest, the new Peruvian president rescinded in September 2023 her recognition of the «SADR». In Morocco, Jacob Zuma reiterated from Rabat his support for Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and advocated for establishing an economic and diplomatic partnership between South Africa and the kingdom. The MK stands as the third-largest political force in South Africa.
