MK Party claims deliberate attempt to stop Jacob Zuma from attending SONA

CAPE TOWN - The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party claims there has been a deliberate attempt to stop its leader Jacob Zuma from attending the State of the Nation Address (SONA).
 
President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to deliver his SONA at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday evening.
 
MK Party chief whip Mzwanele Manyi confirmed on Thursday that Zuma would not be present at the annual gathering on Thursday evening.

Zuma appeared at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday, seeking leave to appeal a ruling that dismissed his attempt to remove advocate Billy Downer from his arms deal corruption case.
 
As a result, the MK Party's chief whip, Mzwanele Manyi, has confirmed that Zuma will not be attending the State of the Nation Address (SONA).
 
Manyi claims the timing of Zuma's court case was intentionally scheduled to prevent his attendance at the annual gathering.
 
“The people that run South Africa have orchestrated that he should not be here. It was public information that there would be a fake SONA today [Thursday]. Judiciary must have known this. Despite knowing this, they wanted him in court in Pietermaritzburg today.
 
It is customary for former presidents to attend the SONA, but the MK Party believes Zuma has been denied this responsibility.