JOHANNESBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) Jacob Zuma, the ex-president of South Africa, on Friday will meet with Julius Malema, the leader of opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), in what experts believe to be a rapprochement between the former rivals to form a political alliance.
Earlier this week, Malema publicly asked Zuma on Twitter for a meeting, and the former president replied that the opposition figure is "welcome to come over for a cup" of tea to his home in Nkandla village. Ekurhuleni city mayor Mzwandile Masina and Zuma's close ally are also expected to attend the meeting.
The news came as a surprise to many South Africans as Zuma and Malema are former allies who turned rivals after the now opposition politician spoke out against Zuma and was fired from the African National Congress (ANC) party in 2012. A year later, he launched the EFF as a break-away party from the ANC.
Speculations are that Malema and Masina are going to advise Zuma to appear before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry Into Allegations of State Capture sitting in Johannesburg to answer allegations of corruption leveled against him during his tenure. The former president, who was in power from 2009 to 2018, is refusing to cooperate with the commission.
Last year, Zuma and his legal team walked out of the proceedings of the commission, refusing to answer questions. The commission was then advised to open a criminal charge against Zuma, after which the constitutional court ordered Zuma to appear and give evidence before the commission. The ex-president said on Monday that he plans to defy the court's order and refused to testify before the commission.
Political analyst Ongama Mthimka told Sputnik that he believes Malema sees an opportunity to gain political points if he manages to persuade Zuma to change his approach.
"I would not read more into this than an opportunity the younger politician [Malema] saw following the latest Zuma letter [on refusal to testify]. He's had a view that Zuma's approach to the Commission was unnecessarily hostile. I suspect Zuma will take note of Malema's input and might change his tone but remain defiant," Mthimka said.
Earlier this week, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule said that the ruling party has not discussed Zuma's refusal to appear before the commission. Magashule also mentioned that Zuma has done nothing wrong during his presidency and said that the commission should "leave him alone".
