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Agence France-Presse

South African President Jacob Zuma resigned as the ruling ANC party finally turned against him after nine years of corruption scandals, economic slowdown and falling popularity.
Zuma railed against the African National Congress (ANC) for “recalling” him from office and threatening to oust him via a parliament no-confidence vote due on Thursday.
In a 30-minute national television address, Zuma said he had “come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect”.
Zuma has been in a power struggle with multimillionaire former businessman Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president who now becomes interim president.
Ramaphosa, who won control of the ANC when he was elected as its head in December, is set to be voted in by lawmakers as South Africa’s new president on Thursday or Friday.
Zuma, whose reputation has been stained by years-long allegations of graft, complained that the ANC party had never explained to him why he had to leave office.

In an earlier TV interview on Wednesday he said he had received “very unfair” treatment from the party he joined in 1959 and in which he had fought for decades against apartheid white-minority rule.
He said he was angered over “the manner in which the decision is being implemented … I don’t agree as there is no evidence of if I have done anything wrong.”
The party’s national executive committee ordered his recall from office on Tuesday, after a 13-hour meeting at a hotel outside Pretoria.
ANC officials had said that if Zuma did not resign on Wednesday, the party’s lawmakers in the Cape Town parliament would vote out Zuma on Thursday.
But senior party official Jesse Duarte said after the resignation that “we are not celebrating”.
“We have had to recall a cadre of the movement that has served this organisation for over 60 years, it’s not a small matter,” she added.

On Wednesday morning, police had raided the Johannesburg home of the Gupta business family, which is accused of overseeing a web of corruption under Zuma’s rule.
Police said three unidentified people had been arrested in investigations into “Vrede Farm” – allegations that millions of dollars of public money meant for poor dairy farmers were siphoned off by the Guptas.
Local media reported that Zuma had been pushing for an exit deal that included covering his legal fees fighting multiple criminal charges – but he denied the allegations in his resignation speech.
One case against him relates to 783 payments he allegedly received linked to an arms deal before he came to power.
Many other graft allegations have centred on the three Gupta brothers, who are accused of unfairly obtaining lucrative government contracts and even being able to choose Zuma’s ministerial appointments.

Zuma has admitted he is friends with the Guptas, originally from India, but has denied any wrongdoing.
The political wrangling in recent weeks plunged South Africa – the continent’s most developed economy – into confusion over who was running the country, with last Thursday’s annual State of the Nation address cancelled at the last-minute.
Zuma’s presidency was marred by slow economic growth, continuing racial inequality and record unemployment that fuelled public frustration.
He was expected to stand down next year after serving the maximum two terms since coming to power in 2009.
In local polls in 2016, the ANC recorded its worst electoral result since coming to power in 1994 with Nelson Mandela at the helm as white-minority rule fell.
Ramaphosa, 65, the deputy president, must revive the economy and crack down on what he has admitted is rampant government corruption if he is to boost the party’s tarnished reputation before a tricky election next year.
He is a former trade unionist and Mandela ally who led talks to end apartheid in the early 1990s and then became a hugely wealthy businessman before returning to politics.
Zuma’s hold over the ANC was shaken in December when his chosen successor – his former wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – narrowly lost to Ramaphosa in a vote for the new party leader.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg


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South Africa

South African President Jacob Zuma quits under cloud of scandal

The resignation signalled an imminent end to a leadership crisis in South Africa and set the stage for Zuma to be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa

(FILES) In this file photograph taken on October 22, 2015, a student holds a placard reading 'Zuma must fall' outside the Luthuli House, the ANC headquarters, in Johannesburg, during a demonstration of thousands of students against university fee hikes, in rolling protests that have become a focus for youth frustration in South Africa. South African President Jacob Zuma addressed the nation on February 14, 2018, saying that he resigns 'with immediate effect'. / AFP PHOTO / Marco LONGARI

A customer reacts while watching a telecast in a bar in Randburg, Johannesburg, on February 14, 2018, as South African president Jacob Zuma makes a live address to the nation on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) network from The Union Buildings in Pretoria. South African President Jacob Zuma announced his immediate resignation in a television address to the nation on February 14, 2018, after the ruling ANC party threatened to eject him from office via a parliamentary vote of no confidence. / AFP PHOTO / WIKUS DE WET

(FILES) This file photograph taken on January 21, 2014, shows a view of the controversial homestead of South African President Jacob Zuma in Nkandla, South Africa. South African President Jacob Zuma addressed the nation on February 14, 2018, saying that he resigns 'with immediate effect'. / AFP PHOTO / Marco LONGARI

South African President Jacob Zuma addresses the media during a national television address in which he resigned, Pretoria. Photo: EPA

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South African President Jacob Zuma. Photo: EPA

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South African police officers stand by a giant portrait of ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa during the African National Congress' 106th anniversary celebrations at Absa Stadium in East London on January 13, 2018. The new head of South Africa's ruling ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa, pledged on January 13, 2018 to "restore the credibility" of the party after a spate of graft scandals involving President Jacob Zuma. / AFP PHOTO / MUJAHID SAFODIEN

Table Mountain overlooks the coastal city of Cape Town, South Africa.

Cyril Ramaphosa is president of the ruling African National Congress party. He is expected to take over from South African President Jacob Zuma. Credit: Glyn Kirk/AFP

Thabo Mbeki served as South Africa’s president from 1999 until 2008. Credit: Die Burger/Mlandeli Puzi/Gallo Images

Jacob Zuma. Photo: Thuli Dlamni

Indian-born South African, Atul Gupta, with President Jacob Zuma at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Photo: GCIS South Africa

South African deputy president poised to replace Zuma in ‘speedy resolution’ to crisis

South African President Jacob Zuma (left, on Wednesday) is expected to soon be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa (right) amid controversy. Photo: GCIS/Handout via AFP

President Jacob Zuma leaves Tuynhuys, the office of the Presidency at Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham

South African President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, are seen attending Cabinet Committee meetings in this government handout picture in Cape Town, South Africa, February 7, 2018. GCIS/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa leaves Tuynhuys, the office of the Presidency at Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham

South African president Jacob Zuma loses support over alleged corruption

Jacob Zuma sheds a tear at a memorial on Saturday. Photo: AP

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The resignation signalled an imminent end to a leadership crisis in South Africa and set the stage for Zuma to be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa


The resignation signalled an imminent end to a leadership crisis in South Africa and set the stage for Zuma to be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.


South African President Jacob Zuma quits under cloud of scandal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The resignation signalled an imminent end to a leadership crisis in South Africa and set the stage for Zuma to be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa

The resignation signalled an imminent end to a leadership crisis in South Africa and set the stage for Zuma to be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa