Jacob Zuma's new MK party vows to win in South Africa elections

His campaign speeches mark an extraordinary return to the political arena for one of South Africa's most controversial politicians. Six years after Mr Zuma was forced from power by accusations that he presided over the wholesale looting of the public sector, he has formed a new party targeting his former comrades. The emergence of his MK party has electrified the election campaign, where the ANC this month faces losing absolute power for the first time in 30 years.

Despite his chequered past and questions over his close relations with Russia, Mr Zuma has managed to make himself one of the key figures of the election campaign. The MK party has little chance of winning the May 29 poll, but the party's creation is widely seen as Mr Zuma's revenge as he feels betrayed by his former comrades, particularly Mr Ramaphosa.

Its ability to take precious ANC votes in Mr Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal adds to the likelihood his former party will miss the 50 per cent share of vote needed to rule outright. Some analysts speculate that could spell the end of Mr Ramaphosa's leadership.

Nhlamulo Ndhlela, a spokesman for the MK party, said: "The capitalists took over the ANC and chose the Right-wing puppet [Ramaphosa] to execute their agenda, selling off state-owned enterprises, selling off components of the state, our ports, the state-owned airline and so much more.

"This was no longer the same ANC when the president of the party was led and chosen by the people, by the branches: the electoral conference in 2017 was bought. The ANC is now controlled by capitalists with an agenda."

In response, the ANC leadership has become increasingly critical of the former president. They are particularly angered by him stealing the name of the ANC's former armed wing for his new party.

"He has defined himself as not subscribing to the values of what led us in the struggle," said Baleka Mbete, a former deputy president. "It is a disappointment for those who worked with him that thought we knew him, but he has now defined himself differently. We can only be sad."

Mr Zuma's new party is the latest chapter in a long political career which has seen him avoid disaster so many times he has been nicknamed the escape artist. After joining the ANC in his teens, he was imprisoned on Robben Island for a decade under apartheid and later led the movement's intelligence wing in exile.

With the end of apartheid, he quickly rose through the party's ranks. Before be became president, he had also been acquitted for rape and charged with corruption over a government arms deal. Yet it was during his time as president from 2009 to 2018 that for many South Africans he became the personification of the death of Nelson Mandela's dreams.

He was accused of presiding over a process known as state capture, where allies took control of ministries and state enterprises so they could loot budgets and assets. Mr Zuma strongly denied wrongdoing, but he was booted from power and then jailed for not testifying at a national inquiry into state capture. He served only three months due to ill health.

Mr Ndhlela alleges the inquiry was a costly farce. "It cost at least 1 billion rand (£43 millio). Who benefited from that? It was mainly white lawyers."

Barely six months from the foundation of the MK party, polls put it at anywhere between 8 and 16 per cent of the vote. Yet many believe Mr Zuma is still compromised by his past, meaning no other party will want to bring him into coalition.

Ghaleb Cachalia, former MP for the opposition Democratic Alliance, said: "He is damaged so massively. Even though some corruption existed prior to Zuma's presidency in various deals, Zuma took it in a very brazen way to another level, in your face. This was state capture: milking state-owned partnerships."

There are also questions over his ties to Russia. During his presidency he developed close relations with Moscow and visited many times, including for medical treatment.

JP Landman, one of South Africa's most respected political analysts, questions whether Mr Zuma's "blood feud" to unseat Mr Ramaphosa will work. He may also be doing it to secure a political legacy for his daughter, Mr Landman said. But time is running out for the charismatic escape artist and his party appears to be a one-man-show.

"One must ask the question, what is MK without Zuma? Is it a long-term prospect, when Zuma steps down or dies? He is advanced in age. Is there a long term future? It could still disintegrate, and MK may fizzle out once Mr Zuma is no longer there," said Mr Landman.