South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), suspended former president Jacob Zuma who once headed it.

The development comes after Zuma, 81, refused to vote for the ANC and announced a rival party in December 2023.

The ANC announced Zuma’s suspension in a statement on Monday, January 29, saying his "conduct is in conflict” with party values and accused him of "asserting himself as the figurehead of counterrevolution in South Africa today.”

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Zuma’s nine-year presidency since 2009 was marred by a corruption scandal, known as "state capture.”

He faces corruption charges. He denies wrongdoing.

The ANC’s National Executive Committee concluded that "exceptional circumstances exist to justify and warrant an immediate decision to suspend former ANC President JG Zuma,” the statement said.

Zuma will be given 48 hours to respond to the suspension decision, according to local media.

The party which has governed South African since the end of apartheid, said there were "anti-transformation forces” seeking "to encourage rebel break-away groupings to erode the support base of the ANC.”

"Zuma and others whose conduct is in conflict with our values and principles, will find themselves outside the ANC,” the party said, adding that it wants to "renew itself.”

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Zuma’s party uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) shares the name with ANC’s former military wing.

A statement announcing the party in December said Zuma would "die a member of the ANC” but not vote for it, adding that he was on a mission to "rescue” the ANC from leaders who act in an "un-ANC manner.”

The ANC said the formation of MK was "not an accident.”

"It is a deliberate attempt to use the proud history of armed struggle against the apartheid regime to lend credibility to what is a blatantly counter-revolutionary agenda,” the statement said.

Zuma joined the ANC at age 17, and rose through its military and intelligence ranks and later became its deputy president and president.