uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader and South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma. Picture: AFP
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party president, Jacob Zuma, has insisted that he will remain a member of the African National Congress (ANC) despite his expulsion.
On Thursday, the MK party unveiled the establishment of its new highest decision-making body, the National High Command.
This body will be led by eight officials, including former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) deputy president Floyd Shivambu, who has been appointed as the MK party’s national organiser.
Addressing the media in Sandton, Zuma further reiterated his stance that he was still an ANC member.
The former president, however, stressed that he wouldn’t support an ANC “which now looks funny, led by somebody else”.
“Some of us were sad. [I said] I’m leaving the ANC because it has gone out of the way. We know that this is the [Cyril] Ramaphosa ANC.
“We said it, and we will continue saying it. They have deviated; they have moved out of the way,” he continued.
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Zuma sought to clarify his previous remarks about voting for the MK party in the 2024 general election while remaining an ANC member.
He explained that his decision was made “with a very sore heart” and was intended to “respect our ancestors who established the ANC”.
“I was just making a point historically that I belong to this organisation, but when it was still the organisation that was established by our ancestors.”
Zuma was officially expelled from the ANC this week.
This comes after the former president failed to appeal his dismissal within the 21 days afforded to him, according to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
Earlier, Zuma responded to concerns about the MK party, which has been described as unstable and dictatorial.
These criticisms stem from the party’s frequent leadership changes, lack of a formal constitution, and failure to hold an elective conference prior to this year’s national and provincial elections.
The former president on Thursday reminded the public that his party was just a few months old.
READ MORE: Expelled MK party members told to move out of parliamentary houses, maintain they still ‘love’ Zuma
The MK party was registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in September 2023 and publicly announced in December.
“You are asking questions as if you are talking to an organisation that has been here from 1960 something. We have not even finished a year,” Zuma told journalists.
He questioned why the MK party’s electoral performance had not been mentioned.
“You want to find something wrong, somewhere,” the former president continued.
Zuma backed his party to grow even further, saying the organisation was “the final answer of the problems of our country”.
“If I was a journalist, I would be asking very wonderful questions [like] ‘how did you come to this idea to help us because we are in trouble?’ Absolutely, I would ask that question.”
READ MORE: EFF in crisis? Shivambu’s shift to MK may boost Zuma’s influence
The former president indicated that the MK party would now turn its focus to the 2026 local government elections.
“We are preparing ourselves for the future, and we have no doubt that we shall overcome.
“We are going to fight for the interests and aspirations of ordinary people on the ground, and we are going to sharply increase the quality of policy alternatives, which will be based on sound and clear principles.”
Additionally, Zuma hailed Shivambu following his departure from the EFF a week ago.
“There are politicians and politicians. This comrade I have known from when he was very young in the ANC Youth League. That’s when I picked up that he is a real politician,” the MK party leader said.
“He takes decisions at the right time for good reasons.”
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