Jacob Zuma Resigns as South Africa’s President on Valentine’s Day

South Africa’s third post-apartheid President, Jacob Zuma has resigned as president of South Africa with immediate effect, state television announced Wednesday night of Valentine’s Day, 2018.

Mr. Zuma, 75, husband of six wives (one divorced and one deceased) and one fiancée, has led South Africa since 2009.

His resignation came a day after he was finally rejected by his party, the African National Congress, after another round of severe corruption allegations, specifically allegations of graft and corruption arising from his connection to the Gupta family of South Africa, , originally from India. Until then, his party had resolutely stood behind in spite of a seemingly endless swirl of corruption scandals that stalked his entire presidency.

The party which Zuma was one of its founding fathers as well as hero of its freedom fighting days, also gave Mr. Zuma until Wednesday night to resign or a vote of no confidence motion would be brought against him on Thursday to remove him from office.

Mr. Zuma is likely to be succeeded by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a former trade unionists who went to become a billionaire businessman before returning to politics, who had already emerged the new leader of the ANC in spite of Mr. Zuma clear preference for his 68 years old ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who had also served as the Chairperson of the African and as South Africa’s Minister of Health, Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs at various times.

Mr. Zuma had earlier refused to stand down during an interview with SABC even after police raided the homes of his associates, the Gupta family, in Johannesburg, the country’s commercial capital. Mr Zuma has admitted that the Guptas, who have been named in a series of corruption probes, are his associates but maintained that there is no evidence he has done anything wrong.

Following a humbling result in the last election during which the ANC recorded its worst return ever since Nelson Mandela was released from prison and led the party to the pinnacle of post-apartheid South Africa’s political leadership, Mr. Zuma has had to grapple with several pressures to step down from the opposition and within his own party. The party itself after a marathon meeting on Tuesday 13^th of February, 2015 asked him to resign within 24 hours or face a humiliating removal through a parliamentary vote of confidence.

The party’s Treasurer-General, Paul Mashatile, said on Wednesday that the party was not happy with the turn of events but was purposively responding to the yearnings of South Africa to start “a new era.”

“The conference of ANC has created new hope. Our people want to see change. We want to go with renewal,” Mr. Mashatile said. For more…