‘Ill treatment’ of MK party members creating instability

Political analyst Levy Ndou said it is not surprising that there is constant change in the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party because it is a fledgling organisation.

“They are a party that is still building up, they are a party that does not have established constitutional structures, and that is why decisions that are taken will surprise many people,” he said during an interview on SABC.

MK party members removed as MPs

On Thursday, MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said 18 party members had been removed from its National Assembly list.

The MK party also issued a statement saying that 12 of the members were told they were being replaced on the day they were sworn in as MPs.

“They were further advised not to proceed to avail themselves for the swearing in, or if they so wished proceed with the understanding that they would be replaced at a later stage, pending the parliamentary procedures,” the party said.

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Ndhlela said the other six members were not sworn in due to ill health and other reasons.

The MK party also said its parliamentary list was “comprised by saboteurs” who included the names of their friends, family members and neighbours. It added that it had opened a case regarding this at the Sandton police station.

The news came after just days after the party, for the second time, removed Arthur Zwane as secretary-general of the MK party. Earlier this year, the party’s founder Jabulani Khumalo was also expelled.

‘Instability and ill-treatment of members’

Ndou said the perceived instability within the MK party could see it lose support.

“The actions that are being taken by the leadership of the MK party have the potential to discourage a voter to vote for this party,” he said.

It will also deter people from joining the party.

“What we see now is instability [and] ill-treatment of individuals,” he said.

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Ndou added that the people being booted from the party are being replaced by those that did not play a role in its successful election campaign.

Watch: Political analyst on MK party’s ‘instability’

The party has also been criticised for not holding an elective conference or adopting a constitution before the elections.

Political analysts say this means that the MK party lacks a leadership structure and a constitution needed to make democratic decisions.

“They have not gone to conferences to elect leadership, so when it comes to decision-making, former president Jacob Zuma appears to be the one who is in charge. It appears as if there is little or no consultation that is done because there is no elected leadership,” said Ndou.

Magashule hesitant to join ranks with Zuma?

Zuma’s seemingly unchallenged authority within the MK party might also be the reason why an expected amalgamation with Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation (ACT)  has not happened.

A source told City Press that the Magashule and Zuma are not as close as they used to be. They suggested this could be due to power dynamics.

“Maybe [Magashule] did not want to be controlled. In that case, you would have to be under [the control of] a particular person.

“But he fails to understand that leadership is two-fold. So, what we actually saw is his refusal to be led. He wants to be by himself and have control of everything,” said the source.

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In July, Magashule also expelled 11 ACT members after they visited Zuma in Nkandla.

ACT accused the members of violating the party’s code of conduct and showing disloyalty.

The party’s Free State provincial secretary Kgaketla Mokoena said the expelled members had a history of creating divisions. He, however, did not give specific details of what the 11 members had done wrong.

Additional reporting by Eric Naki