Former president Jacob Zuma survived a car crash on Thursday night, local news agencies reported.
The accident happened shortly before 19:00 when one car in his convoy crashed between Gingindlovu and Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal.
Neither the former president nor his bodyguards sustained any injuries.
Reports say he was travelling from Nkandla to eShowe in KwaZulu-Natal to campaign for the uMkhonto we Sizwe party.
Accidents are common on South African roads.
This comes a day after the Electoral Commission (IEC) endorsed objections to the former president’s nomination to stand for parliament.
Zuma was nominated by the MK Party as its main candidate for the National Assembly despite him having a criminal record. The criminal record stems from a 15-month prison sentence handed to him by the Constitutional Court after a contempt of court conviction in 2021.
The MK Party said it would appeal against the IEC’s decision.
Zuma was barred from running in South Africa’s general election in May.
The country’s electoral commission, or IEC, has not given a reason.
However, his 2021 conviction and jailing for contempt of court would appear to disqualify him.
His backing of the new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party has been seen as a possible threat to the governing African National Congress (ANC), which has suspended Mr Zuma.
The 81-year-old served as president from 2009 until 2018, when he had to step down because of corruption allegations.
Zuma’s new party is named after the ANC’s former military wing, and he sees himself as the true heir to the governing party’s revolutionary roots.
The ANC had wanted South Africa’s electoral body to deregister MK, but that request was rejected on Tuesday.
Mr Zuma has been leading the MK party’s campaign and was the first name on their candidate list, but the electoral commission received objections to him potentially becoming a member of the National Assembly.
Rather than voting directly for a president, South Africans elect members of the National Assembly.
The head of whichever party can muster a majority is likely to become the country’s leader, though it could put forward another candidate.
“In the case of former President Zuma, yes, we did receive an objection, which has been upheld,” said electoral commission head Mosotho Moepya on Thursday.
“The party that has nominated him has been informed,” Mr Moepya told journalists.
Zuma has until 2 April to appeal against the decision.
MK spokesman Nhlamulo Ndlhela told AFP news agency the party was “looking at the merit of that objection but we will of course appeal it”.
The former president received a 15-month prison sentence in 2021 for contempt of court and the constitution says anyone who has had a prison sentence of longer than 12 months is not eligible to run for election.
Mr Zuma is also facing charges of corruption over a multi-billion-dollar arms deal from the 1990s, when he was vice-president.
The IEC said that the ruling did not prevent the MK party from taking part in the 29 May poll, News24 reports.
For the first time since the start of the democratic era in 1994, the ANC’s vote share could fall below 50%, according to several opinion polls. The MK party is seen as popular in Mr Zuma’s home region of KwaZulu-Natal.
By Agencies
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