Former President Jacob Zuma attended an MK event in Pietermaritzburg.Photo: Prasharan Govender
There are growing fears that the newly established uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) will be taken over by individuals who want to promote Zulu nationalism.
Recently, following the perception that some within the MK party were promoting Zulu nationalism, KwaZulu-Natal ANC deputy provincial secretary Sipho Hlomka told the local community in Mkambatini that they all It served as a reminder that they were part of the wider South African community.
Hlomka was part of a government delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa that recently opened a bridge in Embo, Mkambathini.
“KZN is part of South Africa. We should be able to speak any language freely, even Tswana,” he said.
Mr Fromka spoke amid concerns over recent comments by former president Jacob Zuma, the face of the MK party.
Addressing MK supporters in Pietermaritzburg, Mr Zuma said he was surprised that people in KZN could also communicate in Tswana.
“They filled the Moses Mabhida Stadium here in Durban and sang this song. ramaphosa le o rata kaofera (We all love Ramaphosa). “I was shocked, I didn't know people in KZN could speak Tswana,” he said.
Mr Zuma's comments were quickly followed by social media posts by people claiming to be supporters of the MK party, changing their names. Umkhonto Wesizwe — means the spear of the nation; Umkhonto Wisizwe Samazulu — Zulu spear.
Although Zuma is no longer president, he announced in December that he would vote for the MK party in the next election and campaign, and he still has a large following in KZN, where the population is mainly Zulu-speaking. ing.
However, MK party regional coordinator Simpiwe Mpungose denied that there was a Zulu nationalist tinge to some of the group's members' statements.
“Firstly, it is not true that the MK Party is a KZN regional party. We are all over the country, MK is in Gauteng, Limpopo, Free State and every other province. This narrative of being a regional party is being driven by people who are scared of the support we have across the country.
“Now that it is becoming clear that the MK party will win next year's elections, they are worried that they will be left in the cold.
“Second, some people are taking political statements at rallies out of context.
“As an MK party, we have never been asked to clarify any political statements allegedly made by our members.
“The fact that those who choose to interpret the statement are doing so without seeking clarity from the MK Party shows that there are individuals bent on discrediting our organization. ” he said.
But political analyst Aubrey Masiki said there were “worrying signs” that the MK party could transform into an organization purporting to represent members of the Zulu nation.
“There are people who very strongly evoke very narrow Zulu nationalist impulses. They position the MK party as: umkhonto wisizwe sama zulu (Zulu spear). This could potentially destabilize KZN.
“We must be sensitive to any attempts to rally support based on parochial nationalist impulses,” he said.
In the run-up to the 2007 ANC National Electoral Conference, where Zuma defeated former President Mbeki in the ruling presidential campaign, some of Zuma's supporters branded him a “100% Zulu boy”. He was wearing a t-shirt.
Mr Masiki said Mr Zuma had a history of failing to make phone calls to order people who were saying inappropriate things in his name.
“What he's doing is not criticizing people who support him and behave inappropriately,” he said.
This article first appeared in The Witness.
