By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has announced the establishment of a presidential task team as part of the preparation for the local government elections.
MK Party leader Jacob Zuma briefed the media in Umhlanga in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
Zuma announced the 11 team members, a group that includes his son, Duduzani Zuma, saying, the party’s significant growth informed the decision to establish this unit.
He stated that he is unable to attend to all party duties personally and will be delegating responsibilities to the team to ensure consistent operational management.
“They are going to be playing very important roles in terms of helping and adding to what we do. For example, I might be in Durban, Joburg, or Cape Town and everywhere else, so it is important that I have a team that will be on the job all the time,” Zuma said.
Zuma also said he is often inundated with many consultations and meetings at his homestead. He said this committee will help him to attend to all the complaints and meetings he has.
“People come to me… to ask ‘what is this, what is that?’. Alone, I cannot handle that. I need a committee that must be able to deal with that. If there is an issue at any place they are there.”
“I will be working with them, they will be reporting to me. I will therefore know what is happening.”
In recent weeks, the MK party has been accused by supporters and critics alike of playing political musical chairs. Officials have been removed, redeployed or replaced as Zuma tightens his grip on the organisation’s structure.
The most high-profile move came on Wednesday, when the party confirmed that former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe had resigned as a Member of Parliament. Molefe, who faces corruption allegations, stepped down from Parliament to focus full-time on his role as the party’s treasurer-general.
Molefe was only appointed treasurer-general last month, replacing Mpiyakhe Limba. The MK party insists the move is strategic rather than punitive, framing it as part of a broader effort to build organisational discipline and financial sustainability.
According to a poll conducted on behalf of The Brenthurst Foundation in 2024, the MK party is the third-largest party in the country, with 15% in the polls, behind the ANC at 39% and the DA at 27%.
That success has not gone uncontested. Former president Thabo Mbeki recently reignited debate by suggesting that remnants of apartheid-era security structures may have been “activated” to undermine the ANC and benefit the MK party during the 2024 elections.
The MK party wasted no time in pushing back, dismissing Mbeki’s claims as reckless and dangerous. On social media, supporters rallied behind Zuma, accusing critics of refusing to accept the party’s grassroots appeal.