MK party ‘not ashamed’ of any leaders, including Zuma – Shivambu [VIDEO]

uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu said his party is “not ashamed” of any of its leaders, including former president Jacob Zuma.

Shivambu was speaking to Newzroom Afrika on the back of an MK party media briefing where it revealed plans to oust the coalition government currently leading KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) with claims that it has the ANC’s backing.

Despite the MK party being the largest political force in the province, it is still the opposition. The party has also attracted a number of high-profile politicians, particularly from the EFF.

Watch: Floyd Shivambu son MK party not being ashamed of leaders

The MK Party will celebrate its first anniversary at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in December. The party, which is eyeing the eThekwini Municipality in the upcoming local government elections, has recently welcomed ANC and EFF members to its ranks.

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Julius Malema’s embattled EFF has been hit with a leadership exodus, with big names, including Shivambu, Mzwanele Manyi, Busisiwe Mkhwebane and Dali Mpofu, crossing over to Zuma’s MK party with speculations of more departures.

ALSO READ: Floyd Shivambu claims ‘everything about EFF’ in interview was true [VIDEO]

Defending Zuma

Shivambu came to the defence of Zuma, who is linked to state capture. Zuma’s Stalingrad strategy over the years has also largely been successful in delaying his legal cases.

“There were so many people who were even saying that President Zuma stole billions of rands, he’s building mansions in Dubai, he’s doing all of those things. Not even one person today can come with proof that Zuma took a single cent from the state for his own personal benefit out of the so-called nonsense of state capture.”

Zuma is currently embroiled in several legal battles, including private prosecutions in a bid to get his arms deal prosecutor Billy Downer removed from the controversial case.

Zuma, alongside French arms company Thales, faces multiple charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering linked to the multi-billion rand defence procurement project in 1999.

The case has repeatedly been delayed by Zuma’s efforts to remove Downer.

ALSO READ: Here’s why Downer will not be removed from Zuma’s arms deal corruption case [VIDEO]

MK success

Shivambu said the MK party is not ashamed of any of its leaders.

“We embrace all of our leaders. We embrace Judge Hlophe who was unlawfully removed by the Democratic Alliance and the ANC for political reasons. The reason they displaced him was because they were fearful that he would rule against them, that he stands firmly against the racist culture which is beginning to encroach the judiciary in the Western Cape High Court and other spheres of society.”

Shivambu said: “There has never been a political party that got to enjoy the kind of success and progress that uMkhonto weSizwe got to enjoy even before the reaches its first 12 months of existence.”

Last month, Shivambu said the MK party’s parliamentary caucus was “qualitatively superior in skill sets compared to any other political party in the country”.

ALSO READ: Zuma unsuccessful in bid to change April 2025 arms deal trial date [VIDEO]