---
title: "Fact-Check — Is Iqbal Survé the funder behind Jacob Zuma’s new political party?"
description: "Mid-December, former president Jacob Zuma announced that he was throwing his weight behind a new political party called Umkhonto We Sizwe. It didn’t take long for rumours to start circulating about who else might be involved."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "WATCH"
author: "Rebecca Davis"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/rebeccadavis-2-2/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-12-22-fact-check-is-iqbal-surve-the-funder-behind-jacob-zumas-new-political-party/"
published: "2023-12-22T05:00:47"
updated: "2023-12-21T20:01:33"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 265
---

# Fact-Check — Is Iqbal Survé the funder behind Jacob Zuma’s new political party?

> Mid-December, former president Jacob Zuma announced that he was throwing his weight behind a new political party called Umkhonto We Sizwe. It didn’t take long for rumours to start circulating about who else might be involved.

By Rebecca Davis · Published 22 December 2023, 07:00 SAST · Updated 21 December 2023, 22:01 SAST

## Key points
- Jacob Zuma's new political party, Umkhonto We Sizwe, is shrouded in controversy and speculation — from its registration to its funding.
- Jacob Zuma has launched a new political party, Umkhonto We Sizwe, which is the same name as the ANC's military wing during apartheid.
- The IEC registered the party on 7 September 2023 by a man called Jabulani Khumalo, who described himself as a dissatisfied ANC member and former Umkhonto We Sizwe soldier.
- Allegations have been made that Iqbal Survé is a major funder of the party, but he has denied this claim.
- MK and ANC figures have denied that Khumalo was ever an MK fighter.

## Content

At this stage, we know very little about a new political party backed by Jacob Zuma called Umkhonto We Sizwe, which is obviously also the name of the ANC’s military wing during apartheid — so the name is a direct provocation to the ANC, and the party has said that it will be exploring legal action.

[YouTube video: "YouTube video"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGR3enSMJ4)

Zuma has said that the party was established after calls to him from religious leaders, traditional leaders and former MK fighters.

A [document from the IEC](https://twitter.com/MbalulaFikile/status/1736105199394037920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1736105199394037920%7Ctwgr%5E7582c36684b8cee46675d2cb1800d0a59aca7ae3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news24.com%2Fnews24%2Fp) shows that the party was registered on 7 September 2023 by a man called Jabulani Khumalo.

At the time, Khumalo described himself as a [dissatisfied ANC member](https://www.news24.com/news24/politics/political-parties/trademark-war-anc-blindsided-as-mk-registered-as-political-party-to-contest-2024-poll-20230919) and former Umkhonto We Sizwe soldier. Since then, however, multiple figures within both the ANC and MK have denied that Khumalo was ever an MK fighter — and that’s probably not an easy dispute to settle given how bad record keeping was from the time.

In the interim, [it has been suggested online](https://twitter.com/goolammv/status/1736057888500564296) that one of the funders of this party is the [owner of Independent Media, Iqbal Survé](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-12-18-sekunjalo-plays-the-race-card-after-appeal-court-judges-find-nebank-can-close-the-groups-accounts/). According to one widely viewed tweet, Survé has pledged “hundreds of millions” to this party.

In a responding post, Survé has denied the claim, but the truth behind this remains uncertain.

> A person using this name [@goolammv](https://twitter.com/goolammv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) has posted that I am the main funder of a new party called MK Party associated with Pres Zuma. For the record I have never funded or been approached by this new party. This person continues to post defamatory statements.
>
> — DR. IQBAL SURVÉ (@IqbalSurve) [December 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/IqbalSurve/status/1736223066244653241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

**DM**