Former MK party secretaries did many ‘wrong things’, says Zuma after Shivambu’s axing 

The Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party has fired its KwaZulu-Natal chief whip, Mervyn Dirks, less than five months after he took up the role, saying the move is intended to strengthen the party. 

In the 2024 elections, the MK party emerged as the largest party in KwaZulu-Natal, winning 37 out of 80 seats in the provincial legislature. They were followed by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) with 15 seats, the African National Congress (ANC) with 14, the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 11, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with two, and the National Freedom Party (NFP) with one.

Although the MK party had hoped to secure a clear majority with more than 50% of the vote, disputes over the election results delayed coalition talks. This opened the door for the IFP, ANC, DA and NFP to form a coalition government with a total of 41 seats, leaving the MK out of power.

After the elections, the party made several attempts to unseat the KwaZulu-Natal coalition government but made little to no progress.  

Read more: First birthday present? MK party aims its sights at KwaZulu-Natal takeover 

It has replaced Dirks with Bonginkosi Mngadi. In a statement on Tuesday, 17 June, the party said the change was ordered by the party leader and founder, Jacob Zuma, and was aimed at strengthening the party.

Dirks’ removal follows that of Mzwanele Manyi as the party’s chief whip in Parliament as well as that of former secretary-general, Floyd Shivambu. 

Zuma not bothered

Speaking on Monday, 16 June, Zuma admitted that there are unhappy party members who want to protest over the decision to remove Shivambu as secretary-general. 

Despite the discontent, he remains unfazed. He is also not concerned about the revolving door of leadership that, in just 16 months, has seen the party reshuffle multiple leaders, including six different secretary-generals.

According to Zuma, this is not a sign of instability but rather a deliberate crackdown on what he views as indiscipline and that it sends a strong message that no one is above the party.

“We’ve had seven secretary-generals because we’re not here to play games. We don’t care how great you are, how loved you are, we don’t care,” he said.  

Zuma made the remarks while addressing scores of supporters during the launch of the party’s youth league at the Christianenburg Stadium in Clermont, KwaZulu-Natal.   

Shivambu sidelined

The remarks come two weeks after the redeployment of Shivambu to Parliament where he will now serve as an ordinary MP when sworn in.

Zuma took the decision to axe Shivambu after his controversial trip to visit fugitive pastor Shepherd Bushiri in Malawi, which the party said was not consistent with the MK party’s constitution.   

While the purpose of Shivambu’s visit to Bushiri in Malawi remains unconfirmed, there has been widespread speculation that he may have been seeking financial backing, whether for personal reasons or to support the party. These rumours are largely driven by Bushiri’s reported net worth of R2.7-billion. 

Zuma said: “This is not an organisation to make money; it is an organisation to liberate South Africa.”    

Read more: How Floyd Shivambu caused his own MK party downfall 

Some senior members of the party have argued that removing Shivambu was a calculated strategic decision. Others believe it was driven by tribal loyalties, and perhaps most significantly, some view it as part of a succession battle in the MK party. 

“If one of us goes off track, we don’t beg them,” Zuma said.  

Zuma also responded to complaints about leadership decisions, saying people ought to trust decisions taken in their interest and in the interest of building a “truthful” organisation. 

“There are those who say they want to protest because of one decision we took. This means our party needs work. We will fire anyone who does wrong in the MKP.”  

While the MK party has seen a string of leaders exit, Zuma said the removal of secretaries-general was never the party’s intention, suggesting that those individuals may have been involved in misconduct or acted against the party’s principles.

Some of the individuals who have held the position include Arthur Zwane, who was first removed for allegedly misleading the party and later dismissed again over claims of mismanagement and internal conflict.  

Another is Sifiso Maseko, who served as secretary-general for five months before stepping down, with the party stating he had resigned to return to his full-time role as chief director of infrastructure at the Gauteng Department of Health.

“There were wrong things they were getting up to but we did not want to embarrass and humiliate them publicly. We never wanted to tell the nation because they themselves know they had done some wrongs,” Zuma said. 

Search for a new SG

The search is now on for MK’s next secretary-general, its seventh. According to the MK party’s constitution, Zuma, as party president, has the prerogative to hire and fire its leaders at will. An insider said: “It all boils down to what Nxamalala [Zuma] decides.”  

Daily Maverick understands from sources in the MK party that internal lobbying for the position is taking place. Names doing the rounds include those of   founding member Phumlani Mfeka and spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela.

Read more: Jacob Zuma’s future looks rocky as court trial looms and MK woes heat up

On the formation of the youth league, Zuma said it was important to launch it eventually, adding that when the party was founded, he knew his leadership team wouldn’t be able to accomplish everything in a single day.  

Qiniso Cibane has been appointed president of the youth wing, while former youth league spokesperson Nkateko Mkhabela takes on the role of secretary-general.

“The youth has a role to play in history,” Zuma said.  

The structure does not seem independent, given that Zuma has tasked it with addressing issues such as the party’s alleged vote rigging, among other issues. 

“The youth must talk about the problems of this country. We are still oppressed, but the oppression this time is on another level,” Zuma said. DM