Hours after African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula exposed his party's great lie about former ANC president Jacob Zuma's Nkandla fire pool, the recurring theme from party leaders was to take shots at Zuma.

Mbalula revealed one of the worst-kept secrets in ANC history: what the party called a fire pool in the R240-million Nkandla scandal was, in fact, a simple swimming pool.

In a shocking move from a former ANC president, Zuma backed the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, without resigning as a member of the ANC, and a few weeks after he was elected as the KwaZulu-Natal chairperson of the ANC's alliance partner, the SA National Civic Organisation.

In the first video posted on Sunday evening, Mbalula said, "In defence of our president, we went to Parliament and opened an ad hoc committee and said a swimming pool is a fire pool. You see swimming pool where you swim? We changed it and said it's a fire pool. The minister of police [Nathi Nhleko] was dripping of sweat even though he had not drunk any alcohol. It's difficult to explain lies."

He added that people lost their careers because of the Nkandla scandal.

News24 attempted to contact Nhleko, but a cellphone number listed for him was no longer in service.

Mbalula harkened back to when former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng issued a damning judgment against Zuma, in a Constitutional Court case that was filed by the Economic Freedom Fighters and then the Democratic Alliance.

In the 2016 case, Mogoeng found Zuma had "failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the land", because he had disregarded the remedial action taken against him by the Public Protector.

Mbalula said Mogoeng was now a "friend" of Zuma, even though the former had said the latter was not fit for office after the Nkandla judgment.

In an extension of the video posted on his X account on Monday, Mbalula appeared to double down on Zuma. 

He said the ANC had tried to "polish" Zuma.

"You can't polish him at all," Mbalula added in isiXhosa.

"We washed him and his problems. Today, he goes around speaking about us. We will respond, but don't rush it. Let him gallivant around. Just watch him.

"No honest pastor would go to that Zuma thing and agree with Zuma. Don't go to events of lies. You're lying on the pulpit."

He said the ANC did nothing to Zuma and "we love him too much".

Mbalula added that leaders had corrected those who made reference to the "nine wasted years", when referring to the disastrous Zuma years. 

"You can't say that because if you say nine wasted years, it might be correct - we have been dealing with an individual in those nine years, from one problem to the other."

But the ANC "owned up" and "self-corrected" by attending to the state capture scandal.

Party members and speakers on the first day of the ANC's 112th anniversary celebrations called for unity and renewal through song and statements made on the podium. 

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe had to intervene to ask members to cut their song about unity - which they were repeating - on account of time. 

"We know you want this unity by force," Mantashe joked. 

On a more serious note, Cosatu's Mpumalanga chairperson, Life Monini, said: "To those that left the ANC, including recently, we want to advise [that] one old wise man not so long ago cautioned that it is cold outside the ANC. We want to confirm that."

"President, as you grow older literally it becomes quickly cold. This organisation isn't about individuals. When you've been given an opportunity to lead any of the alliance partners, respect and appreciate that ... once you hand over the baton, respect the ANC and its decisions," he added.

SACP provincial secretary Lucky Mbuyane said: "The less we talk about the MK Party, the better."

Quoting Mao Zedong, Mbuyane added that, if a revolutionary betrayed the revolution, they became counter-revolutionary the moment they abandoned the revolution. 

"We know the real MK, where our comrades went to the bush, trained [and] took an oath to say: 'We are facing a difficult moment and will have to choose whether to fight or submit'."

He called on "the real MK" to stand up against the identity theft.

Mbuyane listed Zuma's links to the VBS saga and his relationship with Schabir Shaik.

He said: "There should be nobody who owes VBS money, who told us when Schabir Shaik was convicted that he's waiting for his day [in court] to tell us what happened … that must now use the revolutionary movement to divide it, so as to defend his narrow, personal interest.

"We will confront him and at the right time we will tell him who he is. 

"We made him a president of the ANC and the country, but today when other people must lead he's jealous and wants his own people to lead."   

Mbuyane said the ANC needed to continue on the path of renewal.

ANC Women's League president Sisisi Tolashe, in an apparent reference to Zuma, said: "All those who want to go, we say, mabahambe kahle [may they go well]." 

ANC Veterans' League president Snuki Zikalala said the proliferation of several parties posed a threat to democracy.

Zikalala added the need to "clear up any confusion" about the Zuma-backed MK Party and the erstwhile armed wing of the ANC.