Former president Jacob Zuma spoke to his supporters on Friday night after a hospital stay. He told them the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party was ready to take power, IOL reported.
The MK Party leader called on South Africans to vote in large numbers in the local government elections on 4 November. He had been largely absent from public campaigning before the address.
“There’s no doubt about it. And no matter how other people can say and do, we are ready to take over,” Zuma said.
Zuma thanked those who wished him well while he was away. He said the messages of support had encouraged him.
“When I was somewhere, they went around and said a lot, wishing that I should be as good as everybody would be,” he said. “And I’m very happy that people could say that. I should come back and be what I am now.”
IOL reported that Zuma gave no details about his time in hospital or his recovery in the address.
He then turned to the vote and asked people to take part and support his party. “I’m wishing that everyone will vote and vote correctly,” he said.
Zuma said he expected many people to answer his call. “I will be very happy, and I’m certain there will be indeed a lot of them who do so,” he said.
He described the elections as a chance for South Africans to challenge the country’s political leaders.
“South Africans who have been put under very difficult conditions for years, this is the time for them to be there and take over and make our country a country of peace,” Zuma said.
He also said the party must be prepared to govern after the vote.
“We must come out in big numbers and vote and vote correctly and win and be ready to lead this country and help South African people to be what they are supposed to be,” he said.
Zuma repeated his call for voters to take political power back into their own hands.
“We have made a very big call to South African people that you need to take back your country and I’m sure our people are going to do it and then we are going to make South Africa a country among countries,” he said.
Political parties are making their final appeals to voters before the elections. IOL reported that Zuma’s hospital stay kept him away from the party’s public election events while other leaders stepped up their campaigns.
South Africans will vote on Wednesday, 4 November, to decide who governs municipalities across the country.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.