Zuma’s MK party challenges ANC in Gauteng and Limpopo with new leadership

Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party is expanding beyond KwaZulu-Natal, having announced provincial leaders for Gauteng and Limpopo yesterday.

There were no surprises in the names revealed by party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu in Johannesburg.

None of the top eight leaders appointed for each provincial branch were prominent figures from the ANC or its alliance partners.

Instead, lesser-known individuals from the two provinces were selected to succeed the existing MK interim structures.

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‘MK could upset ANC’

Political analyst Khanyi Magubane said now that MK was busy establishing its provincial and regional structure, the party would grow to be a force to be reckoned within the country.

Magubane cautioned the ANC that MK could upset it in Gauteng because it was strongly targeting the province knowing the ANC was weak in Gauteng.

“MK is solidifying itself and wants to capture Gauteng and Limpopo and other provinces and this shows they are going beyond KwaZulu-Natal,” Magubane said.

The bigger picture

Also Shivambu was focusing on his duty in the party and looking at the bigger picture instead of focusing on his issues with MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.

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In his announcement, Shivambu said in both Gauteng and Limpopo all existing interim structures would cease to exist with immediate effect, and only the new provincial detachment would be recognised by the party and would provide leadership in these provinces. Initially, there was speculation that some senior ANC members would join MK.

But many prominent members, primarily from the ANC and the EFF, have already been recruited by MK, with most deployed in parliament.

These included former KwaZulu-Natal premier Willie Mchunu, former police minister Nathi Nhleko and former top executives of state-owned enterprises such as Eskom’s former CEO Brian Molefe and Transnet’s Siyabonga Gama.

MK also almost depleted Julius Malema’s EFF of the cream of its top brass and parliamentarians. Besides Shivambu, who is formerly EFF deputy president, MK had recruited prominent lawyer Dali Mpofu, former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and Zuma’s long-time ally Mzwanele Manyi, among others.

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