Can Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla lead the MK party in parliament ?

Questions have been raised whether Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is fit to lead the MK party independent of her father, former president Jacob Zuma.

Policy mummbling interview

This comes after Zuma-Sambudla’s interview at the IEC’s Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Midrand.

In the clip of the interview which was widely shared on social media, Zuma-Sambudla seems unclear on the economic policies of the MK party and refers to the party having policies similar to those that her father implemented when he was state president for two terms.

ALSO READ: Zuma’s allies: A threat to democracy?

The Citizen spoke to political analyst professor Sipho Seepe about Zuma-Smabudla’s capabilities to lead the party in parliament.

“She does not have the pedigree of people you can associate with the ANC. If you think about the Mbalula’s, the Malema’s, the Ace Magashule’s and all of that, that should not be held against her,” he said.

Seepe said Zuma-Sambudla had pushed herself into the centre of South African politics through the Mk party. He said the MK had introduced a space for young fresh leaders to emerge.

“MK is a very new party and there will be old players or old hands in politics and you will also have newcomers. These are newcomers that represent a particular cohort of activists like other parties the MK will have to draw from younger generations,” he said.

Seepe said Zuma-Sambudla had a political consciousness of her own since she was a daughter of an ANC veteran and an influential figure in South African politics.

“She happens to be privileged seeing that she is a daughter of someone who is seasoned in politics. Effectively you could say she was born in politics, so her involvement would have been from somebody who was watching things happen around herself,” Seepe said.

ALSO READ: Zuma’s gun talk must be silenced

It was not clear if Zuma-Sambudla would land up in the MK party’s top six since the party had not held an elective conference since it was formed six months ago. But there were suspicions that Zuma-Sambudla or her brother, Duduzane Zuma, could end up in top structures of the MK party.

On Wednesday, Zuma-Sambudla thanked MK supporters on social media. She further said she had grown and matured through the campaign journey to the elections.

“Your love and support humbles me and I don’t take it for granted…this particular campaign trail has matured and groomed me,” she said.