Durban — Political pundits have cautioned leaders of the newly formed Afrika Unite Congress (AUC) party to tread carefully if they want to make inroads within the already “saturated“ South African political landscape.
This comes after the members of the Nazareth Baptist Church, also known as the Shembe Church, in KwaZulu-Natal took a decision to enter the AUC.
The AUC was launched in Inanda on Sunday, and its founders said they expected it to alter the province’s political playing field.
Nelson Mandela University Professor of Political Science Bheki Mngomezulu said the new party would likely face a challenge of saturation by too many political parties already available in the country.
“Church membership does not necessarily mean that they will choose to vote for the AUC,” Mngomezulu stressed.
Independent political analyst Thabani Khumalo said that voting is a democratic right and is private. He said convincing the church members to vote only for the AUC would prove to be a difficult task for its leaders.
The new kid on the block is led by Lizwi Ncwane, who belongs to the Ebuhleni branch, led by Inkosi Mduduzi Shembe.
Apparently, a few years ago the church tried to form a political party but failed to achieve political mileage, falling short of even a single seat in the provincial legislature or even at the City of eThekwini council.
Ncwane said the party’s membership was open to everyone interested in joining it.
“Therefore it will be incorrect of us to try to submerge the church into a political arena.
“The church is a place to praise the Lord, therefore we cannot involve it in political matters. The only issue here is that I am Nazareth, and therefore the burning issues which made us form this party also affect the Nazareth people.
“The party came into effect because of the wisdom of the members of the church. Whoever has been benefiting from the church membership, whether it be Ebuhleni, Ekuphakameni, Ginyezinye, Thembezinhle or Gauteng, they may still continue to come and seek blessings from the church leadership, but they must know that we will now compete with them.”
He said that the party does not only belong to the Ebuhleni members of the Shembe Church, but is open to all members of society, and even beyond the borders of South Africa.
“With this party, we aim to define the role played by the traditional and the spiritual leadership in the governance of the country, something that has never been explored within the political landscape of South Africa.”
Ncwane said that the AUC is being registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa, but a decision on whether the party would take part in next year’s elections will be made later.
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