---
title: "Zuma’s uMkhonto Wesizwe party secures historic by-election win in ANC stronghold of Richmond"
description: "Jacob Zuma’s breakaway party from the ANC has gained a seat in the Richmond municipality, in a ward where the ANC won well more than 80% of the vote in 2021."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "MARCH BY-ELECTION"
author: "Wayne Sussman"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/waynesussman/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-13-jacob-zumas-mk-party-defeats-anc-in-richmond/"
published: "2025-03-13T07:07:27"
updated: "2025-03-13T08:34:25"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 518
---

# Zuma’s uMkhonto Wesizwe party secures historic by-election win in ANC stronghold of Richmond

> Jacob Zuma’s breakaway party from the ANC has gained a seat in the Richmond municipality, in a ward where the ANC won well more than 80% of the vote in 2021.

By Wayne Sussman · Published 13 March 2025, 09:07 SAST · Updated 13 March 2025, 10:34 SAST

## Key points
- Jacob Zuma’s MK party has gained a seat in the Richmond municipality, in a ward where the ANC won well more than 80% of the vote in 2021.
- uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK) secures a significant by-election victory in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal, reclaiming a traditionally ANC stronghold.
- This win marks MK's third by-election success since the 2024 elections and their first in 2025.
- In 2021, the ANC dominated this ward with over 80% of the vote, highlighting a dramatic shift in voter sentiment.
- Final results: MK 54%, ANC 39%, EFF 5%, IFP 1%, PA.

## Content

The [uMkhonto Wesizwe party](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-05-20-mk-party-trades-on-identity-politics-as-zuma-invokes-zulu-nationalism-traditional-leadership/) (MK) got its by-election mojo back by winning a traditionally safe ANC seat in the [Richmond](https://richmond.web.za/town-history.html) municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. This was MK’s third by-election win since the 2024 elections and its first by-election win in 2025. This was a ward where the ANC won well more than 80% of the vote in 2021.

#### **Ward 2 (****Ndaleni****) Richmond, uMgungundlovu:****MK 54% ANC 39% (84%) EFF 5% (9%) IFP 1% (1%) PA <1% (1%)**

**The setting:**Indaleni is a township abutting the town of Richmond in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Richmond sits on the R56 road which links the provincial capital of Pietermaritzburg with the traditional ANC stronghold of Ixopo. [Richmond](https://mg.co.za/politics/2021-10-27-riots-leave-ugly-scars-as-richmond-braces-itself-to-go-the-polls/) is known for its dairy, sugarcane and timber. The town also produced Judge Chris Nicholson and Olympic tennis gold medallist Harold Kitson.

**The 2021 local government election:**The ANC won by a landslide in the ward. No other party got into double percentage figures. The ANC won nine of the 13 seats in Richmond. The EFF came in as the official opposition with two seats, while the DA and IFP won a single seat each.

**The 2024 provincial election:**MK was the most popular party in the ward, obtaining an impressive 53% of the vote. The ANC plummeted from 83% in 2019 to 35%, losing well over half of its support in the ward. The IFP edged the EFF for third place, but lost a percentage point to finish on 1%. The EFF collapsed from 10% to 1%.

MK was also the most popular party in the municipality, winning 55% support. The [ANC](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-16-bushbuckridge-by-election-anc-records-emphatic-win/) fell from 79% to 33%. The DA came third with 5%, down one percentage point from 2019. The IFP continued to struggle in Richmond, getting 3%, the same as in 2019. The EFF fell from second to fifth place, shrinking from 9% to 2%.

**The by-election:**The ward councillor resigned. MK bested the ANC by 523 votes in a relatively high turnout by-election to win its first seat in the vote-rich uMgungundlovu district. MK won three of the four districts, with the ANC scraping past the MK in the other district. MK performed best at the Siyathuthuka Community Hall, the district with the highest percentage voter turnout and the second-highest turnout among voters on the day, obtaining 264 votes more than the ANC.

**Read more:**[By-elections hub](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/by-election-results/)

MK has tended to underperform in KwaZulu-Natal by-elections relative to its 2024 provincial performance. The party improved on its 2024 showing by one percentage point. It will hope that this result will turn the corner for the party and it can now pick up where it left off after a remarkable debut in the 2024 provincial and national elections.

The new council composition is: ANC 8 (9) EFF 2 MK 1 (0) Independent 1 DA 1 IFP 1. Total: 14.

**Poll:**53% (42%)

The next round of by-elections will be on 19 March when the ANC defends an inner-city ward in Johannesburg, a ward in Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape and a rural seat in Joe Morolong Municipality in the Northern Cape. **DM**