Former heads of state and presiding officers get automatic invites to the Sona, but Zuma has been absent from the event.
After years of snubbing Parliament, former president Jacob Zuma and the leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) will be among the guests at the State of the Nation address in Cape Town on Thursday.
Former heads of state and presiding officers get automatic invites to the Sona, but Zuma has been absent from the event since stepping down from the high office in 2018.
Sona
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the first Sona under the government of national unity (GNU) at 7 pm on Thursday at the Cape Town City Hall.
Nearly 2,000 guests from various sectors will attend the R6 million Sona.
The Sona will follow a full ceremonial format.
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This will include a 21-gun salute, an aircraft fly-past, a ceremonial guard, the singing of the national anthem, a full military band, and processions featuring provincial speakers, premiers, the judiciary, the deputy president and the president.
Zuma to attend
National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Refilwe Mtsweni, on Wednesday addressed a media briefing on Parliament’s preparations for the 2025 Sona.
Mtsweni confirmed on Wednesday that Zuma would attend the Sona.
“The issues of former president who will be in attendance, we can confirm all them are coming, the likes of former president Mbeki, he will be here. Former president Motlanthe, he is here with us, as well as former president Zuma, he will be in attendance.
“Not only them, the Speaker has alluded that even the former deputy presidents, as well as former speakers and chairperson of the National Council of Provinces. So, they will be here in their numbers,” she said.
[WATCH] Parliament confirms that former president and MK Party leader Jacob Zuma will attend #SONA2025 after years of missing the sitting. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/LZJHyN6i7e
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) February 5, 2025
Several political parties and organisations have outlined what they want Ramaphosa to include in his 2025 Sona, and many South Africans are keeping a close eye on how the government will help struggling consumers.
Legal blow
Zuma’s attendance comes after he was dealt another legal blow after the Constitutional Court dismissed his application for leave to appeal his private prosecution bid against Ramaphosa.
In its judgment on Wednesday, the apex court found no reasonable prospects of success.
Zuma, who now leads the uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK), initiated private prosecutions against Ramaphosa on the eve of the ANC 55TH national elective conference on 15 December 2023.
Zuma accused Ramaphosa of being an “accessory after the fact” in a criminal offence involving State Advocate Billy Downer.
The former president accused Downer – the lead prosecutor in his arms deal corruption trial – of violating the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act by allegedly leaking his confidential medical information to journalist Karyn Maughan in August 2021.
ALSO READ: ConCourt dismisses Zuma’s private prosecution appeal against Ramaphosa
