BLF and MK make a pact along with ACT

Ideological commonalities have attracted the reviving Black First Land First (BLF) to Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which is shaping up to be a home for disgruntled ANC members and groups aiming to resuscitate fading fortunes.

The BLF signed what its leader Andile Mngxitama called a “historic agreement” with MK to join forces in the 2024 general election.

Electoral pact

The two leaders held a two-hour discussion in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday, culminating in the electoral pact.

Mngxitama said: “This is a historic agreement where one party endorses another in an election.

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“BLF and MK share a lot ideologically. Both parties believe in the policy of radical economic transformation.

“The return of land is a paramount policy for both parties. BLF believes that MK party presents an exciting possibility for a radical future.”

BLF, which broke away from Economic Freedom Fighters after an apparent fallout between Julius Malema and Mngxitama, had been in a paralysis state for some time and only emerged recently to announce its intention to work with MK.

During its active period, the organisation was hauled before courts by right-wing groups that challenged its alleged “hate speech” utterances, including the call to “kill for land”.

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Later the words were found to not constitute hate speech.

BLF will vote with MK

This week Mngxitama told The Citizen the BLF had agreed in the meeting with Zuma that the party would vote with MK.

“It’s part of our commitment to building a radical black movement to take the battle to white monopoly capital,” Mngxitama said.

MK has no formal national structure or a national executive committee, but Zuma is its face. The former president was accompanied by his daughter, Duduzile, during his public addresses in which he criticised the ANC, particularly its president Cyril Ramaphosa, and the ruling party’s corruption.

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Although MK has been associated with the radical economic transformation agenda, Zuma himself has historically never been an advocate of such a radical ideology throughout his political career until 2017.

None of his speeches since 1994 contained any utterances on radical economic policies which only came towards the end of his ANC term in 2017.

MK home for smaller groupings wanting to revive their political fortunes

Experts noted that MK could become a home for smaller groupings that wanted to revive their dying political fortunes.

Recently the African Congress for Transformation led by former ANC secretary-general, Ace Magashule, a Zuma ally, announced it was joining forces with MK, while the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania – founded by Robert Sobukwe as a break-away from ANC, and now led by Mzwanele Nyhontso – also held exploratory discussions with the new party.

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A number of senior ANC leaders were expected to leave the ruling party to join MK, especially those who were disgruntled with the party or who had exhausted all their opportunities in the ANC and wanted to scout for new opportunities in the new formation.