DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Opinion: How South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma used Trump’s playbook – and lost
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Opinion Sean Jacobs | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

But the figure of former President Jacob Zuma and his new political party uMkhonto – or simply “MK” – provoked more reaction. Jerome Delay/APMoreover, according to Herman, pro-Zuma conspiracy theories and propaganda, some with Russian fingerprints, had been flooding South African social media in the lead-up to the election. And even as Zuma takes pages from Trump’s playbook, South Africans may be telling a different narrative. Facing pressure, Zuma resigned as South African president in 2018. Though some South Africans still admire the US’ capitalist spirit, I find that the South African friends who visit me in the US don’t always feel at ease anymore.

Persons: Sean Jacobs, Cape Town CNN —, Read, Nelson Mandela –, Jacob Zuma, uMkhonto, ”, –, Herman Wasserman, Herman, Zuma, Donald Trump’s, Jerome Delay, Trump’s, Mandela, Michele Spatari, Duduzile, Jacob Zuma's, MK’s, Zuma’s, “, jestingly liken Donald Trump, Jacob Zuma of, Putin, playbook, Nelson Mandela, Alexander Joe, Trump, “ I’ve, it’s Biden, won’t Organizations: CNN, New School, Cape Town CNN, African National Congress, Zulu, Stellenbosch University, Former South, ANC, Getty, Democratic Alliance, DA, South, Trump, Jacob Zuma of America, Durban, International Court of Justice, Global Locations: Africa, South Africa, Stellenbosch, Cape Town, America, Taiwan, Germany Riding, United States, Orlando, Soweto, Johannesburg, Trump’s playbook, South, Robben, Orange Farm, AFP, Cape, Durban, Russia, States, China, Israel, New York City

☆ New Party in South Africa to Boycott Opening of Parliament
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The official results from national elections last month just don’t add up for Mbalenhle Mthethwa, a loyal adherent of a new political party led by Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president. “The elections were not free and fair,” she said, echoing the stolen-election narrative advanced by Mr. Zuma. Ms. Mthethwa, a 38-year-old chef, lives in a township near the coastal city of Durban and has been out of work for the past four years. Mr. Zuma, 82, whose nine years as president were marred by allegations of corruption and looting of state coffers, has taken a page from the playbook of populist leaders of recent years — notably in the United States and Brazil. Vote-rigging claims in other nations have resulted in chaos, and South Africans will get a first look at how things might unfold on Friday, with Mr. Zuma’s party, uMkhonto weSizwe, known as M.K., vowing to boycott the first sitting of the newly elected Parliament.

Persons: Mbalenhle Mthethwa, Jacob Zuma, South, “, ”, Zuma, Mthethwa, Mr, uMkhonto weSizwe Organizations: Mr Locations: Durban, United States, Brazil

☆ Jacob Zuma has made a dramatic comeback in South Africa’s elections. Will he have the last laugh over Ramaphosa?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Sarah Dean | David Mckenzie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Johannesburg, South Africa CNN —South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) party faces a mammoth challenge as it needs to form a government with its political rivals after suffering a seismic blow in last week’s election. However, both parties believe in the primacy of South Africa’s constitution and both have promised to crack down on corruption. If the ANC decides to pursue coalition talks with MK, then Zuma will want Ramaphosa out, solidifying his revenge. However, if South Africa’s president maintains his grip on the ANC, a coalition with MK is unlikely. South Africa’s business community and middle class are broadly nervous about an EFF–ANC coalition and its effect on investor confidence.

Persons: Mahlengi, Motsiri, Jacob Zuma, Zuma, Cyril Ramaphosa –, –, ”, Tessa Dooms, ” Dooms, Ramaphosa, Gupta, Ramaphosa’s, Fikile Mbalula, “, John Steenhuisen, Steenhuisen, TK Pooe, Paul Mashatile, Zuma “ unapologetically, Melanie Verwoerd, Verwoerd, Julius Malema, Malema, Floyd Shivambu, Mandela, Klerk, Thabo Mbeki Organizations: South Africa CNN, National Congress, ANC, South, MK, who’ve, CNN, Sunday, Democratic Alliance, White South, DA, EFF, Fighters, Wits School, Governance, Empowerment, ANC’s, National Health Insurance, Freedom Party, IFP, Reserve Bank, Finance, GNU, FW Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa, Zulu

☆ Jacob Zuma Gets His Revenge on South African Party That Shunned Him
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jacob Zuma’s political career could have ended when he was forced to resign six years ago as South Africa’s president over corruption allegations. But Mr. Zuma, 82, has improbably bounced back after every threat to his political survival, and now has significant power to determine who will lead the country. The political party that Mr. Zuma began six months ago — umKhonto weSizwe, or M.K. — finished third in last week’s national election, upending South Africa’s political landscape. The showing helped to bring about the stunning collapse of the party he once led — the African National Congress, or A.N.C., which failed to win an outright majority for the first time since the country’s democracy began in 1994.

Persons: Jacob Zuma’s, Zuma, improbably, — Organizations: African National Congress, upending Locations: South

☆ What’s Next for South Africa After Voters Rebuked Its Reigning Party?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( John Eligon | Lynsey Chutel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

South Africa is headed for big change. — which has governed with sizable electoral majorities since the start of democracy in South Africa in 1994 — won only about 40 percent of the vote in last week’s election. “In their desperation, I wonder what kind of choices they will make,” said Bhekindlela Cebekhulu, 40, a theater performer in Soweto. Will South Africa have a white president soon, or might parties promoting socialism seize ownership of his home, asked Mr. Cebekhulu, who said he voted for the A.N.C. Most of all, he said, he worried about former President Jacob Zuma’s threats to change the Constitution.

Persons: —, ”, Bhekindlela Cebekhulu, Mr, Cebekhulu, Jacob Zuma’s Organizations: African National Congress, “ Locations: Africa, South Africa, Soweto, Will South Africa

☆ South Africa election 2024: Polls open in what could be most closely contested election since the end of apartheid
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Sarah Dean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Johannesburg, South Africa CNN —Millions of South Africans are voting in what is expected to be the most pivotal general election since the end of apartheid. While polling can be challenging in South Africa, most analysts believe that the ANC faces its stiffest challenge yet with a population deeply frustrated by the country’s direction. SOUTH AFRICA GENERAL ELECTION 101 South Africa uses a “proportional representation” system. South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, according to the World Bank. This is the seventh general election South Africa has held since the end of white minority rule 30 years ago.

Persons: Nelson Mandela, Cyril Ramaphosa, ” Ramaphosa, Anders Pettersson, Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto, Zuma, “, ”, John Steenhuisen Organizations: South Africa CNN, National Congress, ANC, SOUTH, Independent Electoral, South, World Bank . Citizens, Workers, African National Congress, Fighters, Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party, Democratic Alliance, Party Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, SOUTH AFRICA, Africa, Alexandra Township, Benoni

☆ South Africa’s Highest Court Says Jacob Zuma Can’t Run in Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Lynsey Chutel | More About Lynsey Chutel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Constitutional Court later overturned his medical parole, but Mr. Zuma then received a presidential pardon from his successor-turned-political rival, Mr. Ramaphosa. While he was granted a remission that reduced his time in prison, he had been sentenced to 15 months, which made him ineligible to run, the court decided. According to South African law, a person who has been convicted of an offense and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison cannot serve in the National Assembly. “It is declared that Mr. Zuma was convicted of an offense and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment,” Justice Leona Theron said. Mr. Zuma is not “eligible and not qualified” to stand for election until five years after the completion of his sentence, the justice added.

Persons: Zuma, Ramaphosa, Leona Theron, Mr, ” Organizations: Constitutional, National Assembly, Mr Locations: Africa

☆ Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s Scandal-Ridden Ex-President, Is Running Again
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Lynsey Chutel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jacob Zuma, who resigned as South Africa’s president in shame in 2018, is now staging his biggest comeback act yet by running in next month’s parliamentary elections with an upstart opposition party at the top of its ticket — the slot designated for a party’s presidential contender. Mr. Zuma’s participation in the race is a blow to a faltering African National Congress — the party he once led — which has governed the country since the end of apartheid three decades ago. and its leader, the country’s current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, are now struggling to win back the trust of voters disillusioned by a stagnant economy and years of corruption. On Wednesday, his party — uMkhonto weSizwe — released its list of national candidates with his name at the top. His party, known as MK, was formed only last December, but has already climbed in the polls, gained ground in local elections and won several legal battles for the right to contest the May 29 election.

Persons: Jacob Zuma, Mr, Cyril Ramaphosa, Zuma, — Organizations: South, African National Congress

☆ Zuma’s Enduring Appeal Threatens His Old Allies’ Hold on South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When the African National Congress suspended former President Jacob Zuma this week, a top party official portrayed him as a traitor to the ongoing struggle for Black prosperity in South Africa and a symbol of corruption that the organization is looking to move past. But to Vincent Mthembu, a longtime A.N.C. activist on the local level, Mr. Zuma was the only hope for the party, which has governed South Africa for 30 years, and the country. “He is the people’s president,” Mr. Mthembu, who owns a construction business in Johannesburg, said on Tuesday. “Whatever that he was doing was enriching Black people.”Many countries seem to have their Donald J. Trumps these days — brash, populist leaders who, no matter how many corruption allegations or legal troubles they face, attract fiercely loyal supporters.

Persons: Jacob Zuma, Vincent Mthembu, Zuma, ” Mr, Mthembu, Donald J Organizations: African National Congress Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg

☆ African National Congress Suspends Former President Jacob Zuma
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Lynsey Chutel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, moved to kick Jacob Zuma out of the party on Monday, punishing the former president for campaigning for a rival political party. The party announced that it had suspended Mr. Zuma’s membership after he helped to form a rival party, of which he has become the “figure head,” the party’s leadership said. The announcement followed a meeting of its National Executive Committee. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Zuma would be allowed to challenge his suspension or face an internal disciplinary process. In the aftermath of his presidency, Mr. Zuma continued to sow political chaos as he evaded accountability and undermined the party’s current leadership through stinging public statements.

Persons: Jacob Zuma, Zuma Organizations: African National Congress, National, Committee

☆ Jacob Zuma Released After Brief Return to Prison in South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( John Eligon | More About John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Jacob Zuma of South Africa returned to prison early Friday morning to continue serving a sentence for contempt, but was released almost immediately under a program to relieve overcrowding in the country’s jails, the authorities said. With his release under the program, it is unlikely that Mr. Zuma will serve more time in prison on the contempt charge. Political opponents accused the government, run by Mr. Zuma’s political party, of giving him preferential treatment, saying it had intentionally started to roll out the overcrowding program on the day he reported to jail. Mr. Zuma had served just two months of a 15-month sentence in 2021 for defying a court order to testify before a national inquiry on corruption when he was released on medical parole by the corrections commissioner at the time, a close political ally. But last year, an appeals court ruled that Mr. Zuma’s release was unlawful and that he had to return to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence, a decision upheld by the country’s highest judicial body last month.

Persons: Jacob Zuma of, Zuma Locations: Jacob Zuma of South Africa

Search resuls for: "Zuma’s"

11 mentions found