The Hypocrisy of Jacob Zuma: A Betrayal of Sahrawi Solidarity

Carl Niehaus

As a Member of Parliament for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), I am consumed by a righteous fury that words can scarcely contain. Jacob Zuma’s recent reversal on Western Sahara is opportunism and inexplicable hypocrisy of the highest order – a man who, as South Africa’s president from 2009 to 2018, upheld Sahrawi solidarity with rhetorical flourish, now suddenly flip-flops to champion Morocco’s so-called “Autonomy Plan” for “peace and development.”

Twisting a dubious story about Morocco’s “historic support” for anti-apartheid exiles into justification for this betrayal, Zuma has sold his soul – and our principles – down the river. Allegations of financial lures, with Morocco’s funds reportedly propping up his uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK party), swirl like a dark, toxic cloud, painting this flip-flop as crass opportunism at its ugliest.

By displaying our national flag during his July 16, 2025, meeting in Rabat, Zuma falsely creates the impression that he speaks for all South Africans, undermining our sovereignty and the progressive foreign policy that has long stood with the oppressed Sahrawi people. This fractures African unity, weakens the African Union (AU), and emboldens oppressors across the continent.

It is nothing less than counterrevolutionary betrayal – a stab in the back to the very ideals Zuma once professed to defend. Not in our name, Zuma! Your actions disgrace the liberation struggle and expose you as a fallen icon, prioritising personal gain over Pan-African solidarity.

To appreciate the magnitude of this hypocrisy, let’s revisit Zuma’s record. During his presidency, Zuma aligned with South Africa’s longstanding pro-Sahrawi stance, rooted in the anti-colonial ethos that progressive forces like the EFF champion as a cornerstone of our foreign policy.

He hosted Polisario delegations, recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), and condemned Morocco’s occupation, viewing it as akin to apartheid’s domination. This was no mere rhetoric; it reflected a commitment to self-determination for Africa’s last colony.

Yet, after having formed the MK party, Zuma’s principles evaporated into thin air for the lure of easy money to finance the MK party, which is nothing but a family enterprise for himself and his close family members.

Now, as MK party leader, he jets to Rabat on July 15-16, 2025, meets Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, and declares his party “recognises the historical and legal context underpinning Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara.” He praises the “Autonomy Plan” as a path to “peace, development, and stability,” ignoring its repressive core. This sudden about-face is inexplicable, save for the whispers of self-interest.

Zuma justifies this by invoking Morocco’s “historic support” – referencing ANC training camps in Oujda during exile. But as is the case with so many of Zuma’s stories, this mostly fake and twisted narrative lacks authenticity: Morocco’s aid was selective and overshadowed by its covert alliances with apartheid South Africa, including arms deals.

To use it now as cover for endorsing colonialism is betrayal incarnate. And the financial allegations? Reports suggest Moroccan incentives have swayed the MK party’s stance, turning policy into a transaction. These claims, emerging amid the MK party’s internal turmoil, paint Zuma’s pivot as crass opportunism – dirhams for doctrine, propping up a fledgling and faltering party at the expense of principles.

The flag display is the crowning insult. In Rabat, Zuma unfurled our national colours during the meeting, creating the illusion of official South African endorsement. This falsely claims he speaks for the nation, undermining our sovereignty by misrepresenting our voice on the world stage.

It erodes the progressive foreign policy that has positioned South Africa as a champion of decolonisation – recognising SADR, advocating referendums, and isolating occupiers. Zuma’s opportunistic stunt fractures African unity, handing Morocco a propaganda win to weaken the AU’s anti-colonial resolve and embolden oppressors from Rabat to Tel Aviv. This is counterrevolutionary betrayal: a former freedom fighter aiding imperialism, diluting the ethos of Mandela, Hani, and Sankara for personal vendettas and gain.

The “Autonomy Plan”? A Bantustan redux: nominal local rule under Rabat’s boot, echoing apartheid’s segregated Homelands – unviable puppets denying true freedom. As the late revolutionary icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela aptly put it in her 2010 speech on Western Sahara, “We also experienced an attempt at so-called autonomy. Several ‘Bantustans’, which were ethnically based, totally unviable, ‘independent’ states, were created on 13% of the most unproductive parts of the country.

They were led by puppet dictators. The people rejected these ‘countries’ outright despite some having been given official recognition by certain Western and African countries.” This led her to suggest that Morocco must have taken lessons from the apartheid regimes. To fully grasp why Zuma’s endorsement of this plan is so odious, one must understand the short but brutal history of the oppression of the Sahrawi people.

Western Sahara, a vast desert territory on Africa’s northwest coast, was colonised by Spain in 1884, becoming known as Spanish Sahara. The indigenous Sahrawi, nomadic Arab-Berber tribes with a rich cultural heritage of poetry, camel herding, and resistance, endured harsh Spanish rule for nearly a century.

By the 1970s, as decolonisation swept the continent, the Sahrawis formed the Polisario Front in 1973 to demand independence, inspired by global anti-colonial movements. Spain’s withdrawal in 1975, amid UN calls for a self-determination referendum, opened the door to betrayal. Morocco, under King Hassan II, launched the “Green March” – a mass civilian invasion backed by military forces – claiming historical ties dismissed by the International Court of Justice. Simultaneously, Mauritania invaded from the south.

The secret Madrid Accords partitioned the territory, ignoring Sahrawi rights and sparking a guerrilla war. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, but Morocco annexed its share, escalating oppression. Moroccan forces bombed civilian camps with napalm and phosphorus, displacing over 100,000 Sahrawis into Algerian refugee camps, where generations have grown up in exile. Morocco’s tactics grew more insidious: constructing the 2,700-kilometre Berm wall in the 1980s – fortified with landmines, radar, and troops – to bisect the territory and contain Polisario fighters.

This “wall of shame” symbolises division, trapping Sahrawis in poverty while Morocco exploits phosphates, fisheries, and potential oil reserves worth billions. Human rights abuses abound: arbitrary arrests, torture, forced disappearances, and suppression of Sahrawi culture and language.

A 1991 UN ceasefire promised an independence referendum, but Morocco has obstructed it for decades, proposing instead the Autonomy Plan – limited self-rule under its sovereignty, excluding full freedom. The 2020 ceasefire collapse, triggered by Moroccan incursions, reignited low-intensity conflict, with Polisario resuming armed resistance. Over 170,000 Sahrawi refugees remain in Algerian camps, facing food shortages and harsh conditions, while occupied zones see protests met with brutality.

This oppression, violating over 100 UN resolutions, echoes colonial patterns, denying self-determination and perpetuating Africa’s last colony. As the EFF, we reject it with the utter contempt that it deserves; we will continue to protest, boycott, and demand justice.

Zuma’s actions won’t deter us; they fuel our revolutionary fire. We call for probes into the MK party’s financial ties with the very wealthy Moroccan Royal family, mass protests, and AU expulsion for Morocco. Forward to liberation for the Sahrawi people. The betrayal and oppression of the Sahrawi people will certainly not be tolerated in our name.

* Carl Niehaus is a Member of Parliament for the Economic Freedom Fighters.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.