Former South African President Jacob Zuma has said the country’s constitution must be changed after he was barred from participating in parliament on Monday.
In his first interview since the ban, Mr Zuma told the BBC that the Constitutional Court had wrongly decided he was unfit to stand as a candidate, based on his 2021 conviction for contempt of court.
“I expected that from our jury members, but they were absolutely wrong. Not correct,” the 82-year-old said.
Ahead of next week’s general election, Zuma campaigned under the banner of the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
He joined the party after falling out with the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which he led.
The election commission argued that the constitution bans anyone sentenced to more than 12 months in prison from serving as a lawmaker – a position supported by the Constitutional Court judges.
Zuma was convicted in 2021 for refusing to testify in a corruption investigation during his presidency.
His lawyers had insisted he had the right to become an MP as his sentence was reduced to three months after current President Cyril Ramaphosa released him from prison in what was widely seen as an attempt to quell angry supporters of the former to calm down the president.
“The judges of the Constitutional Court acted very funny towards me, especially towards me,” Zuma told the BBC.
“They do not take into account the will of the people of this country, they use their own will.”
He served as president from 2009 to 2018 before being forced to resign as leader of the ANC due to allegations of widespread corruption in his government.
The corruption, commonly known as “state capture,” put hundreds of millions of dollars in public assets into private hands. Zuma has always denied any direct role in the corruption, but will stand trial on bribery charges next year.
He told the BBC he had been unfairly stripped of his role as leader of the ANC.
“I don’t know what ‘state capture’ means. If people say I’m corrupt, what have I done? Do you have any facts about that? Am I guilty?
“I was removed before the end of my term and nothing was presented to prove this was a problem.”
Zuma’s MK party had previously expressed a desire to change South Africa’s constitution, which was drafted 30 years ago at the birth of the country’s democracy after decades of white minority rule.
When asked about this in light of his election ban, Mr Zuma reiterated that the historic document needed to be amended.
“This constitution on the African continent is guided by the laws of Europe, not by us,” he said.
“Nothing has gone right on this continent because we are still dominated by those who were the ones [who] made us slaves, and after slavery they oppressed us, and after oppression they introduced their own laws to govern us.
“There are details that clash with our lives.”
An Ipsos poll published last month gave MK 8% of the vote, and the ANC 40% as it loses support to MK and other opposition parties.
But some analysts suggest that if the ruling party has stepped up its campaign in recent weeks, it could still breach the 50% mark. But if the ANC gets less than half the votes, it would lose its majority for the first time in thirty years.
MK is expected to do especially well in Zuma’s home region of KwaZulu-Natal.
After Zuma was jailed for contempt of court in 2021, angry supporters led to days of deadly riots. More than 300 people were killed in the clashes.
On Wednesday, Zuma said this violence showed the extent of public support for him.
“This should tell you that the masses of this country love Zuma – that’s why we had that,” he said.
When asked by the BBC whether he would use this interview to call for peace and calm ahead of next week’s elections, Zuma replied: “I always have.”
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