Former South African president and Mkhonto weSizwe (MK) leader Jacob Zuma looks on during a press conference in Sandton, Johannesburg, 22 August 2024. (Photo: Emmanuel Crozet/AFP)
Former president Jacob Zuma on Saturday witnessed growing divisions within his Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
President Zuma, who was giving the keynote speech at the joint funeral of six MK supporters who died in a road accident in Kranskop, saw several party leaders heckled by a group of MK supporters.
Addressing the crowd at the funeral in Estcourt, President Zuma described the behaviour of MK supporters as “shocking” and expressed his displeasure with the protesters.
“This is a funeral and using a funeral to express disgust towards certain people is completely wrong.
“If you continue to behave in this manner, we will have no option but to expel you from the party,” he said.
The MK party is currently campaigning to overthrow the Government of National Unity (GNU) and amend the country's constitution to introduce radical economic policies.
Zuma questioned whether MK could achieve its goals if its members remained divided.
“We have been clear that we want to build a new country, but how can we do that if we are not united?” Zuma asked.
President Zuma compared the behaviour of MK members at the protests to that of ANC members and said it was unacceptable that MK members were “stabbing each other” rather than standing up to the “enemy”.
“We know that the enemy is plotting against us. They have even placed their allies within the MK party. Such actions will help the enemy in their mission to destroy us,” he said.
The heckling comes at a time when the MK party is struggling with growing discontent within its ranks.
Last month, a group of MK party lawmakers sued the organisation, claiming they had been expelled from Parliament.
On the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, MK members are demanding the sacking of a local member and accusing the provincial leadership of imposing him on them.
MK founder Jabulani Khumalo is currently in a legal battle with the party's current leadership over his expulsion from the party. He claims he was unfairly expelled by Zuma after joining the party last year.
In a recent interview witnessANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtlo said the ANC had lost support for the MK party because of the “confusion” Zuma had caused among ANC supporters in KwaZulu-Natal.
In the run-up to the general election in May, President Zuma gave the impression that MK and the ANC were one organisation.
The ANC national leadership formally expelled Zuma from the party but he told mourners at Estcourt that he remained an ANC member.
“I am still in the organisation. They should not think that their decision is the end of everything. I will still fight. This organisation was founded by our forefathers who had a very clear vision. What we are fighting against are individuals who have hijacked the organisation and are misguiding it,” he said.
This article was first published in The Witness.
