By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has expelled five of its leaders including founder Jabulani Khumalo following a meeting by the party’s national leadership.
MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela confirmed that the party has expelled five of its leaders. This includes Khumalo, whom former president Jacob Zuma requested that he register the party on his behalf.
Khumalo registered the party but it has since emerged that Zuma might have been the brains behind its formation.
The five members are Khumalo, Ray Khumalo, Bheki Manzini, Lebo Moepeng and Rochelle Davidson, also known as Gogo Mahlalaentabeni.
The party accuses the five members of destabilising the party.
The expulsions were announced on the back of the Electoral Court’s publication of the reasons for its earlier decision that cleared the way for MK Party leader, and former president of the Republic, Jacob Zuma to contest in the upcoming general elections.
The Electoral Commission had earlier found that Zuma could not stand for the elections due to his contempt of court conviction that saw him sentenced to 15 months imprisonment.
The IEC has turned to the Constitutional Court to appeal the electoral court’s decision to overturn its rejection of Zuma’s candidacy.
MK Party was launched in Soweto on 16 December 2023 – Reconciliation Day – which marked the 62nd anniversary of the founding of Umkhonto weSizwe.
At the launch, Zuma said he could no longer vote or campaign for a Cyril Ramaphosa-led ANC and had opted to throw his weight behind the newly registered party, while stressing that he remained an ANC member.
Zuma was clear that the formation of the party was a direct response to the current trajectory of the ANC, a common move for sidelined ANC members.
In the last year, former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule formed the African Congress for Transformation after he was expelled from the ANC. His erstwhile ally, Carl Niehaus, formed the African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance before joining the EFF.
The existence of MK is certainly giving the ANC a headache, particularly in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal. While it has set its eyes on unseating the ANC, political analysts say this is unlikely to be the case.