By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party celebrated its one-year anniversary at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.
The party, launched just months before the 2024 general elections is now the official opposition in parliament.
It also garnered the highest number of votes in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) but isn’t in charge of the province due to a deal struck between the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA).
The MK Party will go down in history as an organisation that helped bring the ANC below the 50% mark at the national polls.
Party leader Jacob Zuma addressed thousands of his supporters who gathered at the stadium to celebrate the party’s one-year anniversary.
“There are four years left before we vote again and take back what is ours, and to fix our country … Are you with me? Stop acting like it will take 10 years. We need to work now, so we can be back in power.
“Let us work together with those in the smaller parties and agree to take our power back. Let’s stop hating and swearing at each other. We need to work hard now,” Zuma said to a loud applause.
Reflecting on the MK party’s first anniversary, Zuma said: “In the short period of one year, we have moved our people closer to the centuries-long goal of total liberation.
“Today, we not only mark a calendar milestone. Importantly, we also celebrate a year of bold decisions as we continue our journey towards a truly liberated South Africa.”
The MK party’s year of existence has not been smooth sailing. The party has been marred by internal turmoil, jostling for positions and building of parallel structures, which Zuma believes is natural for a young, growing party.
“No movement is immune to internal challenges, and the uMkhonto Wesizwe party is no exception. As a young and dynamic organisation, we have faced the growing pains that accompany rapid expansion and the pursuit of revolutionary change,” said Zuma.
Speaking about the party’s challenges, Zuma made reference to the Government of National Unity (GNU), which he dubbed an “unholy alliance” and a betrayal of the Struggle for liberation.
The MK leader continued with his narrative that the party had been robbed of a two-thirds majority in 29 May general elections — when it took 17% of the national vote and 45% in KwaZulu-Natal — and called for changes to the vote counting system.
The MK party has lodged a second challenge to the May results in the electoral court.
Zuma called for changes to the electoral system, urging his supporters to challenge the status quo and protest in order to ensure that votes are counted publicly, locally and “not by strangers”.
“They robbed us of our votes. In future, we must also be there as the community when they are counting our votes so we know exactly what has happened. There must be public counting. We need that, “he said.
‘We must all agree that in the next election, MK must have a big drum for votes, and the other parties, and we must be there when they count the votes. We don’t care what the regulations say.”
The MK leader also used the occasion to remind his followers why he had started the party, telling them that there were things that “we must not forget about”, including colonialism, apartheid and land dispossession, which continued today through the government of national unity.
“We are here today to say that there must be unity of black people. We are the only people who are struggling. Nobody else will take us out of our struggles. It is only us,” he said.