Former president Jacob Zuma’s decision to vote and campaign for the Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK) Party, which was only registered this year, has been hailed as a good “strategic move” by some political commentators.
At a media briefing on Saturday, Zuma announced that he would not be voting or campaigning for the ruling party but for the recently registered entity named after the old armed wing of the ANC.
Zuma said it would be a betrayal to vote for the ANC under the current leadership.
“I cannot and will not campaign for the ANC of Ramaphosa. My conscience will not allow me to lie to the people of South Africa and pretend that the ANC of Ramaphosa was the one of former ANC leaders (Albert) Luthuli, (Oliver) Tambo and (Nelson) Mandela,” he said.
Former Areta leader and EFF member Carl Niehaus congratulated Zuma for having taken the correct decision not to vote for the ANC.
“I warmly congratulate President JG Zuma on having taken the correct decision not to campaign for the sell-out ANC. It is my ardent hope that President Zuma will continue to play a central role in forging unity between all the forces of the progressive left,” Niehaus said.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, political analyst Dr Zamo Mbanjwa said it would be difficult for the ANC to prove that the new party was the property of the ruling party.
“The ANC does not own the patent and the MK Party is an independent organisation working with the ANC and is not a political party registered by the ANC. So it would be very difficult to prove that this political party is actually the ANC.
“Even though the veterans’ league work with the ANC, it is an independent structure. It will, therefore, be difficult to prove that the MK belongs to them and they own MK.”
The MK party was reportedly registered by Jabulani Sibongiseni Khumalo.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party would be taking legal action against Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK) and its founder after it was revealed that it had been registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and is likely to contest the 2024 general elections.
The “founder” of the “MK political party”, Jabulani Sibongiseni Khumalo, was not a member of the MK. In page 43 of his submission to the TRC, he stated his reasons for not joining MK.
“Umkhonto we Sizwe belongs to the ANC. If you want to form a party, you can go, but leave MK with us. We are going to challenge them,” Mbalula said.
The Star
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za