As the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) continues to tally the votes of this years’ general election, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) has come out swinging, with the political party currently leading in KwaZulu-Natal.
Being a new player in the game but having amassed such support, South African politicians and netizens have questioned its popularity.
Some on social media have claimed that this is due to tribalism in KZN.
This follows Gwede Mantashe’s comments on Thursday that: “If the impact is in KZN, it refers to something different. It refers to Zulu tribalism. And, I don’t think that we should lock ourselves into Zulu tribalism.
“Tribalism is a backward form of politics. It had its time-frame and disappeared. So if that is the factor, I am not worried about it.”
MK party condemns the reckless tribal-infused statement by both the ANC and its impending coalition partner, the DA.
— uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (@MkhontoweSizwex) May 30, 2024
MK Party denounces the toxic remarks made by ANC’s Gwede Mantashe, to characterize the MK Party’s electoral success of in KZN as a product of "Zulu tribalism.… pic.twitter.com/id1mHGW4qN
Speaking to IOL, Musa Mkhize, the MK Party’s head of programmes in KZN said the province is not the entirety of the country and that MK has presence in other parts of SA.
“We have never looked at who is Sotho, Venda or Zulu. We have just been voting for development, peace, jobs and everything that will make South Africans improve and become better,” Mkhize said.
He said that the tribalism claims are a ‘new mystery’. It shows that people that we still respect, through ageing they become confused.
“It means something is missing in their system. Never mind the way they think. So, all the people that voted for the MK Party in KZN are not tribal. They purely voted for all South Africans.”
xolile.mtembu@iol.co.za
IOL Politics