By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Sibonelo Nomvalo was reduced to tears talking about his removal as the Secretary General of the uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK) Party, which is often described as the party of the populist.
Nomvalo held a media briefing in Durban, where he gave his own side of the story.
He was removed from his position on October 22. The MK Party cited concerns including candidate selection, internal factionalism, parliamentary changes, campaign-material delays and deployment committees.
Nomvalo said he had not called the briefing to seek sympathy or to demand his reinstatement.
He said his intention was to defend his integrity and explain to MK Party members what he believed had been happening within the organisation.
“I stand here today not to seek sympathy, not to fight for my reinstatement as the Secretary General, but to do only two things.”
”To protect my integrity, which I went to school for. Secondly, to make members of the MK party aware of what is happening in their party because I’ve been refused an opportunity to do so internally,” he said.
He said, he was not surprised by the decision to remove him as SG. He said there had been many attempts before; others came through “intelligence reports” that were submitted to the founder of the party, Jacob Zuma.
Nomvalo said one of the reports accused him of being a spy for the ANC.
“Out of my own volition, I collected all the necessary evidence, including bank statements and logbooks, to dismiss these allegations.”
“I requested a meeting with President Zuma, Deputy President Tony Yengeni and comrade Willies Mchunu in which I tendered the evidence and we discussed the matter at length,” he said.
He said the second intelligence report accused him of plotting with the party’s former SG, Floyd Shivambu, to remove Zuma as the president of the party. The pair allegedly planned to use the party’s policy conference to do this.
As a consequence of this, the policy conference was cancelled. I want to place it on record that I only interacted once with Floyd Shivambu; it was during his term of office as the SG of the MK party,” he said.
He said the third intelligence report alleged that he had stolen money from the MK party to buy cows.
“Attached to this report was my Facebook picture posted in 2024 where I am standing in my kraal. The interpretation to the president is that it’s a new picture and all, and all cows appearing on the picture were bought with money I stole from the MK party,” he said.
Nomvalo said he had bought the livestock in 2023, when he was a practising attorney.
He said there was a fourth intelligence report that accused him and Brian Molefe of paying more than R20 million to the Birchwood Hotel to host the party’s policy conference.
“We brought all documents, including bank statements and the contract with Birchwood Hotel, to dismiss these allegations.”
He said another intelligence report said he is an agent of the president of the ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa. He denied this, saying the only time he has interacted with Ramaphosa is in parliament.
“I do not even recall having a direct social conversation with him,” he said.
Nomvalo is the eighth secretary-general to be removed by Zuma since the MK Party’s formation in December 2023.
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.
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 African National Congress (ANC) at 39% and the Democratic Alliance (DA) at 27%.