Former South African President Jacob Zuma said he was ready to make a surprise return to politics by standing for a top position at the ruling African National Congress Conference in December if nominated by party members.
Zuma disclosed this in a statement to some ANC members who approached him to consider contesting the position of party chairman at the end of the year.
In his words, “I have indicated that I will be guided by the branches of the ANC and that I will not refuse such a call should they deem it necessary for me to serve the organization again at that level or any other”.
The 80-year-old Zuma was president from 2009 to 2018 before he was forced to resign amid wide-ranging allegations of corruption in government and state-owned institutions.
He was sentenced to 15 months in prison last year for defying a court order to testify at a judicial commission investigating corruption during his tenure and has since been released on medical parole.
Besides, Zuma is facing trial for corruption in a separate case involving a major arms deal the South African government was negotiating more than 20 years ago, around the time Zuma was a deputy president of South Africa.
