Jacob Zuma says ‘the constitution must change’ after South Africa election ban

He joined the party after falling out with the governing African National Congress (ANC), which he used to lead.

The electoral commission argued that the constitution bars anyone who was sentenced to more than 12 months in prison from serving as a lawmaker.

Mr Zuma was convicted in 2021 for refusing to testify at an inquiry investigating corruption during his presidency.

Mr Zuma’s lawyers have insisted he is entitled to become an MP as his sentence was reduced to three months after current President Cyril Ramaphosa released him from prison in what widely seen as an attempt to placate the former president’s angry supporters.

He was president from 2009 to 2018 before being forced out as leader of the ANC amid allegations of widespread corruption in his government.

The corruption, widely known as “state capture”, saw hundreds of millions of dollars of public assets taken into private hands. Mr Zuma has always denied any direct role in corruption, but is due to face trial next year on allegations of bribery.

He told the BBC he had been wrongly stripped of his role as leader of the ANC.

“I don’t know what ‘state capture’ means. If people say I am corrupt, what did I do? Do you have any facts about it? Am I guilty?

“I was removed before the end of my term, and nothing was produced as evidence that this was an issue.”