South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma survived a road crash Thursday night, local media reported Friday.
Zuma and his bodyguards were traveling from Nkandla to Eshowe, in KwaZulu-Natal Province, to campaign for the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party when the crash happened.
It is not clear whether Zuma and his bodyguards have been injured or not, the report said.
South Africa’s electoral commission has revealed that it has excluded former president Jacob Zuma from standing in the May 29 general election.
“In the case of former president Zuma, yes, we did receive an objection, which has been upheld,” commission president Mosotho Moepya told reporters, without giving details.
“The party that has nominated him has been informed” as have those objecting to the move, he added.
The decision can be appealed if lodged before April 2.
According to the electoral commission’s statement, “any person who was convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine” cannot stand in an election.
It would be recalled that Zuma, 81, was forced out of office in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations.
He is campaigning for the opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party in an attempt to relaunch his career and weaken his former party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
The general election, after which the victor will appoint a president, is set to be tense.
The ANC is on the brink of dropping below 50 per cent of the vote for the first time since it came to power at the end of apartheid.
That would force the party once led by Nelson Mandela to form a coalition to stay in office.
The ANC is bleeding support amid a weak economy and allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail in June 2021 after refusing to testify to a panel probing financial corruption and cronyism under his presidency.
Besides his 2021 contempt conviction, he is facing separate charges of corruption in an arms procurement scandal in the 1990s, when he was vice president.
Bafana Bafana of South Africa on Saturday night defeated the Les Leopards of DR Congo to finish third at the 2023 AFCON going on in Cote D’Ivoire.
Captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was the hero again for the Southern African country as he saved two penalties to secure a third place finish for his team.
All efforts by both sides to break the deadlocks proved abortive as the center referee signalled the end of proceedings between the two teams at Stade Fekix Houghout, Boigny, Ebimpe.
Williams saved spot kicks from Chancel Mbemba and Meschack Elia to give Bafana Bafana the bronze medal in the Ivory Coast.
Before Elia had his kick saved, Siyanda Xulu converted to give South Africa what proved the decisive lead in the shootout.
Williams saved four shootout kicks last weekend to help South Africa get past Cape Verde after a goalless quarter-final.
DR Congo will regret many misses chances during regular time in a lively match while South Africa maintained a perfect record in third place play-offs having beaten Tunisia on penalties 24 years ago.
South Africa made three changes to the team beaten in a penalty shootout by Nigeria after an incident-packed semi-final three days ago.
Nkosinathi Sibisi, Thapelo Morena and Mihlali Mayambela came in for suspended Grant Kekana and injured duo Mothobi Mvala and Percy Tau.
DR Congo retained only two of the side that lost to hosts Ivory Coast in the other semi-final — captain and centre-back Mbemba and midfielder Samuel Moutoussamy.
The result meant that both sides would have to wait a bit longer to search for their second and third AFCON trophies.
Nigerian Citizens Association of South Africa (NICASA), has called on all Nigerians living in Western Cape in particular and South Africa in general to officially register with the body.
NICASA is the official South African government-recognised umbrella body of Nigerians in South Africa,
This is contained in a statement, jointly signed by the Chairman of NICASA, Dr. Henry Ezumaha and Azebeokhai Leo, (Deputy Chairman, Western Cape Province), and made available to journalists in Benin, Edo capital, on Friday.
The statement said that the call became necessary ahead of the first ever Nigeria Cultural Festival, slated to hold in South Africa later this year, to showcase the rich culture of the Nigerian people,
The statement noted that through its collaborative efforts, NICASA has made it easier for Nigerians in West Coast (WC) to capture and get their international passports without having to travel to Johannesburg anymore.
The statement reads in part:
“We will help to deal with the welfare of Nigerians through various social and economic interventions.
“We also act as a bridge between Nigerians and the consulate in one hand, and Nigerians and the host community on the other.
“One of our goals is to help build a stable and prosperous Nigerian community in Western Cape in particular and South Africa in general through the various initiatives and programmes that we have carried out.
“And a lot more programmes, activities and interventions planned for the short-, medium- and long-term future that will benefit a lot of Nigerians.
“We go as far as helping to provide all logistics, security and organising the venue throughout days of passport interventions that usually take up to three days at our own financial cost
“Some interventions we have carried out include, but not limited to, helping some sick ones settle their medical bills.
“We visit and rescue Nigerians who have been illegally arrested and kept in jails. We go as far as engaging good lawyers to represent them.
“We have had the incident of sending a terminally-ill patient to Nigeria by covering all costs associated with that process,” the statement said.
According to him, NICASA is a non-profit organisation that funds all its events through the benevolence of the executive members and other well-meaning stakeholders to the benefit of all Nigerians living in South Africa.
The statement encouraged Nigerians to support the association to enable it continue to deliver proper community service to Nigerians in South Africa.
For the first time in the history of AFCON, South Africa and DR Congo will slug it out in the third place match of the competition.
Prior to the start of the tournaments, these two teams were not tipped to go thus far in the competiton as the odds were clearly stacked against them.
Both sides were knocked out of the title race during the semi-finals where Bafana Bafana of South Africa were edged 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Nigeria, while DR Congo lost by a slim 1-0 margin against hosts, Ivory Coast.
While both sides will be disappointed with the semi-final exit, the third and fourth place play off presents the perfect opportunity for either side to go home with the consolation of being the third best team of the competition.
The third place game between both teams will hold at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan at 8pm Ivory Coast time.
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A member of the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, slumped and died during the penalty shootout stage of the match between Nigeria and South Africa at the ongoing AFCON tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
According to Daily Post, the youth, identified simply as Samuel from Kaduna State, who was serving in Adamawa, died just before the last kick that ensured Nigeria’s progress to the final on Wednesday.
A witness said in a social media post, “We lost one Nigerian during our victory celebration over South Africa today at our sports viewing center here in Numan.
“The corps member who is serving in Numan from Kaduna fainted before the kick of the winning goal. He died before they could reach the hospital. May his soul rest in peace.”
The NYSC Coordinator in Adamawa State, Mr. Jingi Dennis, confirmed the matter in a telephone conversation Thursday morning.
The coordinator said, ”I received the news of his death last night. I hope to have more details today.
“According to his colleagues who went with him to watch the match, the late corps member told them that he didn’t like watching penalty shootout. He then bowed his head and all of a sudden, he collapsed.
”He was confirmed dead at the General Hospital in Numan by the doctor.”
South Africa’s head coach Hugo Broos feels his side played better against Nigeria in Wednesday’s semi-final encounter which they lost 2-4 on penalty kicks.
The Bafana Bafana came back from a goal down to take the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) game to extra time.
Reacting to their defeat, Broos explained that his side played much better and deserved to win the game.
“Football can be hard sometimes, when you look at the performance of my team today (Wednesday), and then there were the penalty kicks. Then you lose the penalty shootout and you are not in the finals.
“It’s hard to accept that, because we played a very good game today. I think we were the best team in the first half, we got the best chances, Nigeria didn’t have any chance.
“In the second half, they had few chances which resulted in a goal and we changed something tactically, and we came back,” he said.
He insisted that his team created more chances, adding that if they had scored, they would have been in the final and not Nigeria.
The Belgian however hailed his team for what has been a great tournament for them.
“It’s a big disappointment for everyone, and we believe we played a very good game, not just today but throughout the tournament.
“I’m proud of my players. The disappointment is in not being in the final, but the pride is in having performed well,” he said.
South Africa will now face DR Congo in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Jose Peseiro, Super Eagles coach, said his new found winning formation suffered in the last 20 minutes of the semi-final clash with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.
Peseiro said this during a news conference after Nigeria’s 4-2 penalty shootout win at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Bouake, Côte d’Ivoire.
The Portuguese tactician also said the semi-final match was his toughest game so far in the ongoing AFCON.
“Around 90 minutes, I see that our team suffered, we were shaken, we lost the balance.
“But during the break before the extra time, we put ourselves together and went into extra time with that confidence.
“They are a very good team, they created a lot of problems for us, they did a fantastic job but I think our boys deserved to win,” Peseiro said.
His South Africa counterpart, Hugo Broos, expressed the belief that his team played very well but lost the game and praised his boys for a good job.
“Two minutes before the end of 90 minutes, we had three clear cut chances. If we could score then, it means we are going to the final.
“It is a disappointment for everyone because we feel that we played a very good game today and I’m very proud of it.
“I’m proud of my players, the disappointment is small, the proudness is very big. What they did, what they performed, not only today, I think i have to be proud as a coach,” Broos.
Nigeria’s captain, William Ekong, scored from the spot to give the Super Eagles the lead in the 67th minute.
A dramatic twist of event saw Victor Osimhen’s celebrations cut short in the 86th minute after scoring what would have been Nigeria’s 2nd goal.
But a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review resulted in a penalty against Super Eagles after Alhassan Yusuf had fouled a player in his goal area.
Bafana Bafana’s Teboho Mokoena, sent goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to the wrong side to even the score in the 88th minute.
The two sides had their few chances in the extra time but Nwabali stole the show when he stopped two of the South Africa’s penalties to give Nigeria a 4-2 win at the end of the encounter.
The Bafana Bafana of South Africa have congratulated Nigeria for making it through to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.
The Super Eagles beat Bafana Bafana 4-2 on penalties after the match ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.
Jose Peseiro’s men will now have the chance to win their fourth AFCON title.
But for South Africa, the wait continues to play in another final, for the first time since 1996.
They wrote on X, “Well done to Nigeria for making it to the final of AFCON 2023.
“South Africa Thank you so much for your unwavering support for #BafanaBafana throughout this tournament.”