Dissatisfied members of the uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) have raised concerns that some members who have recently joined the party have been parachuted into leadership positions.
On Friday, party leader Jacob Zuma announced at a media briefing that former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and former ANC leader and KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu would be joining as convenors of the party in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal respectively.
Earlier this month, Mchunu, in a letter to the ANC, announced that he was resigning as a member. He said he believed that the ANC should not have entered into a coalition to form the government of national unity and he was hurt by the criticism he received when he raised this view within the party.
Mkhwebane resigned from the EFF two weeks ago. The latest appointments comes after Brian Molefe, Siyabonga Gama, and Lucky Montana, all former CEOs of state-owned enterprises who faced scrutiny during Zuma’s presidency for their involvement in state capture allegations, were sworn in as MKP MPs last month.
EFF member Mzwanele Manyi has joined the MKP as Chief Whip in Parliament while the Red Berets’ former deputy president Floyd Shivambu is the party’s national organiser.
The grievances of disgruntled MKP members were circulating at the weekend and include the parachuting of leaders from other parties, the hostile takeover of the MK Party; the marginalisation and intention to force out MK Party leaders and that leadership and influence is being reserved for those with money and connections.
MKP national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday but Zuma addressed these grievances during the media briefing.
He warned against protests over the parachuting of new members, saying membership to the MKP is about commitment to serve, insisting that positions are not guaranteed.
“Let me talk about the people who are protesting. They seem to have joined the MK for reasons that are slightly different from us. Anyone who is protesting is misled and those don’t understand what MK is.
“The fact that they can even say we are taking people that we don’t know, what that is. These are comrades they know, all of them. We have suffered together, and I take it that they are in MK because they suffered.”
Zuma said party members cannot be a problem themselves as their duty is to recruit more people to the party.
A source in the party said that there is growing resentment, especially in Parliament, that those recruited from other parties are getting senior leadership positions.
“When the party was formed there was a National Interim Core (NIC) and president Zuma put forward an excellent principle that you could not be in the senior structure of the party and also be a MP.
“He did not want MKP to make the same mistake that the ANC did, where people fought for senior party positions so they could become ministers.”
The source said that NIC members had opted to go to Parliament and forfeited their rights to be leaders of MKP.
“Now you bring in a new set of people who never campaigned during the election and they are now leaders of MKP... the top seven people of the party, even the provincial leaders that were announced are relatively unknown as they did not campaign for MKP at the last elections.”
Another source who spoke to The Mercury differed with the popular view, saying the new members who had been recruited will strengthen the party, especially as it starts the process to campaign for the 2026 local government election.
“According to my understanding, the president’s principle is doing very well.
MK is a new party and membership is open to anyone with the aim to make this country better than what it has been,” the source said.
Political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the disgruntled MKP members have a legitimate grievance.
“The problem is that the decisions are made on top and brought down to the bottom without the knowledge of the rank and file, which is the ordinary members.
“Some of them participated in the MKP election campaign, resigned from their workplace or have been recalled from Parliament. All of a sudden they are expected to make way for those who did not campaign for the party. There seems to be a lack of democracy in the party,” Breakfast said.
The Mercury