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‘He took the spear and stabbed himself with it’: Mbalula on Zuma and MK party
'You can't leave to work with the enemy and then say you are fixing the ANC,' Mbalula said about Zuma.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula in Parys, Free State on 27 June 2023. Picture Neil McCartney
African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has taken another swipe at former president Jacob Zuma for leaving the governing party.
Mbalula on Wednesday attended an ANC rally in Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), ahead of the party’s manifesto launch, which will be held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium over the weekend.
‘Zuma never gave ANC two-thirds majority’
Addressing ANC supporters, Mbalula criticised Zuma for backing the new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
“We are fighting in court and you will hear that it is the end of it soon,” he said in reference to the trademark dispute between the ANC and MK party.
The case will reportedly be heard by the Electoral Court on 19 March.
The ANC secretary-general said “those who are lost will come back”.
“Those who want to go, we are not going to force them to stay. They can leave, but you will come back my child. The ANC will always be here in South Africa, it is not going anywhere,” Mbalula said.
ALSO READ: MK ‘a threat to ANC’ as 10% of election vote predicted for Zuma-backed party
Mbalula also shrugged off the MK party’s target of a two-thirds majority in this year’s national and provincial elections before taking another swipe at Zuma, who was suspended by the ANC last month.
“I hear people say they want a two-thirds majority, but how will you get it when you never gave us. If you want a two-thirds majority you have to have the trust of all South Africans.
“We last had a two-thirds majority with Thabo Mbeki. We haven’t gotten it since. This two-thirds majority will come from the African National Congress.”
Watch: Mbalula addresses ANC rally in Msinga, KZN
Mbalula said the ANC had not expected “Msholozi, a father who grew up in this struggle and worked for this liberation” to abandon the party.
“He did something that has never been seen in the struggle. You can’t, as a veteran like him, say that I’m leaving the party.”
The ANC secretary-general urged members not to “fight with anyone or be violent”.
“We are not jealous, we don’t have hate and we are reviving the African National Congress.”
‘Enemy is rejoicing’
Mbalula further dismissed Zuma’s claims of fixing the ANC from the outside by supporting the MK party.
“He took the spear and stabbed himself with it. You can’t leave to work with the enemy and then say you are fixing the ANC. The enemy is happy, the enemy has never loved us [and] the enemy is rejoicing.
“They want us divided so that they can infiltrate us. When we are divided, when we are done killing each other, they will take the country and take it wherever they want to take it. That’s not a struggle.
WATCH: ANC ‘ready to defend itself’ if Zuma goes to court
“There’s no [household] without problems. You can go with something you don’t know, when you get there you will find that it is worse than what you left behind.
“It is the same as leaving your wife in the house and go look for another woman, leaving the right person in the house. The movement has always had problems, challenges, but you don’t desert the movement. We will die here in the African National Congress,” Mbalula continued.
‘Zuma had his time’
The ANC secretary-general emphasised that Zuma’s time was over, saying “leaders come and go”.
“Msoholozi had his time, we fought for him, placed him in the Union Buildings [despite] his charges and made him president of this country.
“After nine years, a new president came in… [Cyril] Ramaphosa’s tenure will also come to an end and another president will come on, but no matter what happens the African National Congress will stay.
“Leaders come and go, but the ANC must remain and that’s what important. You don’t leave the ANC because you have problems. Also us, we have problems, who doesn’t have problems? Who will solve those problems? We will solve those problems.”
READ MORE: Zuma’s suspension shows ANC ‘was between a rock and a hard place’
Mbalula claimed that people joined the MK party because they want positions in Parliament and provincial legislatures.
“They want to be in charge on all sides,” he added.
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