Defections to MK rife in North West, Free State

Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) is targeting his former ANC supporters in Free State and North West and the response has been positive as disgruntled ANC members find a new political home in his party.

ANC members who were disappointed by the ruling party’s handling of council and parliamentary nomination processes have joined. Some were organising for the MK party in Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Bojanala Platinum and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati regions.

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A total of eight ANC ward branches at Matlosana local municipality were affected by unresolved nomination issues emanating from the 2021 local government elections and the upcoming 2024 polls.

In the Free State, Zuma supporters asked for Ace Magashule to merge his party, African Congress for Transformation, with MK to form a formidable force against the ANC. Magashule indicated the two parties had joined forces.

Many disgruntled ANC members from the North West’s Kenneth Kaunda region said they were already working with MK, while others were still considering joining.

A group from the North West recently went to Nkandla and met Zuma, who approved an interim structure to operate in the province.

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An MK interim representative for the affected members, Ishmael Semonyo, from Klerksdorp, who was one of those who went to Nkandla, said there was massive interest in the new party.

He and others were mobilising communities and were to go to Taung today to engage traditional leaders who had been invited by Zuma for a meeting of all traditional leaders countrywide tomorrow.

“We are recruiting. We want more members. We are spreading the message about MK in the province and people are interested to join because they are fed up with the ANC. We say that under the ANC the food prices are so high and the petrol price increases frequent and we have no jobs.

“There are a lot of squatter camps here in Klerksdorp where I stay. The roads have potholes all over and sewage runs in the streets,” Semonyo said.

Semonyo’s discontent with the ANC began when he contested ward 14 as a councillor but his name was removed and replaced with that of a name unknown to his ANC branch of which he was chair.

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Ward 14 is the biggest ANC branch in the region. Similarly bogus candidates were allegedly introduced in wards 1, 6, 13, 14, 26, 27, 28 and 36 in Matlosana and legitimate candidates removed by the ANC in favour of parachuted members.

The entire province has been hit by nomination irregularities, not only at ward level but also for the new legislature and national parliamentary lists for elections.

The majority of ANC branches in Rustenburg held a meeting recently and resolved to defect to MK. Some ANC branches from Bojanala region, led by the Marikana branches, had asked for a meeting with former United Democratic Front and ANC stalwart Jo Mboweni.

The request followed a march to Mboweni’s house recently by branches and ANC Women’s League members who wanted to vote for MK instead of the ANC.

The bone of contention is that the ANC’s North West provincial legislature list is filled with members who had been parliamentarians for between 15-20 years and some were implicated in state capture by the Zondo commission.

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