from NJABULO BUTHELEZI in Durban
KwaZulu Natal Bureau
DURBAN, (CAJ News) – WHETHER the expulsion of his daughter is a calculated move to shatter the narrative that former president Jacob Zuma’s party is a so-called family business or private political vehicle, there is no doubt the organisation is imploding.
It gives weight to the sentiment that the veteran politician (84) is the absolute focal point and supreme leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), for whose formation he was expelled from the African National Congress (ANC).
This week, the party celebrated exactly three years since its establishment, but another round of expulsions, presided over by Zuma, has overshadowed the milestone, not least the dismissal from the party of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, his daughter.
She is a founding member of the party formed after her father’s fallout with the ANC, Africa’s oldest liberation movement.
While he is contesting his expulsion from the party he led for ten years until 2017, he is displaying even sterner trigger-happy tendencies at the MKP.
Zuma-Sambudla (44) and former spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela (also 44) had been skating on thin ice before their eventual expulsion from the party on Thursday.
Zuma-Sambudla is accused of “promoting factionalism, publicly discrediting leadership and challenging party decisions.”
Already suspended from the MKP and having lost his parliamentary seat in the process, Ndhlela is accused of “acting without authority, misrepresenting party positions and holding unauthorised media briefings.”
Zuma’s daughter has paid the price for openly opposing the suspension of Ndhlela through a series of online posts. She has also been quoted as opposing the party’s stance on the ongoing xenophobic violence in South Africa, where the MKP-dominated KwaZulu-Natal is the epicentre.
The MKP has expressed solidarity with the protesters and disclosed it will participate in the marches set for June 30 to demand that foreign nationals leave the country.
Zuma-Sambudla’s reported resistance to the anti-migrant protests is attributed to her being born in Maputo, Mozambique, and having attended school in Zimbabwe while her parents were in exile during the apartheid government’s crackdown on freedom fighters.
She and Ndhlela were jointly charged with “interfering in the private medical and personal matters” of the late Muzi Ntshingila, an MKP member, without the consent of the family following his death two weeks ago.
The MKP cited a section of the party constitution in expelling both individuals, terminating their membership and associated rights.
“The president may determine and convene policy and consultative meetings to discuss issues and matters deemed important for the growth of the organisation,” the MKP stated.
The two expelled members have fired back.
Zuma-Sambudla has alleged a campaign against her by some senior figures in the party.
“So, these leaders want President Zuma to eat his own children and then they go home and play with theirs, protect them and keep them safe?” she quipped.
“A liberation agenda cannot be hijacked by rejected politicians whose aim is to drive narrow-minded capitalist agendas,” Zuma-Sambudla added.
She disclosed that Ndhlela would be acting as spokesperson and media representative for the duo.
Ndhlela said, “MK Party is for activists, not elite politicians. We will continue to fight for total liberation and not submit to politics.”
Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), expressed solidarity with Zuma-Sambudla.
Malema was expelled from the ANC in 2012 when it was still under Zuma’s leadership.
The latest turbulence adds to the shambolic state of the party, with local government elections scheduled for November 4. At the 2024 general elections, the MKP finished third and is now the biggest opposition party after the second-placed Democratic Alliance (DA) entered into a coalition with the ANC and other smaller parties.
“While the MKP demonstrated a rapid and historically significant rise in 2024, its ongoing internal instability is creating a revolving-door environment that may severely hinder its ability to retain or expand its voter base in the upcoming 2026 local government elections,” said an analyst.
The party is not fazed.
“The uMkhonto weSizwe Party remains stable, united and focused on its organisational and political programme,” it stated.
It said preparations for the November elections were progressing “at full speed.”
The party has carried out rapid dismissals since its formation in 2023, often citing the need for “cleansing” or instilling discipline.
The position of party Secretary-General is the most volatile.
Appointed three months ago, Sibonelo Nomvalo is the eighth person to hold the role.
In 2024, party founder Jabulani Khumalo and four others were expelled after being labelled rogue elements.
That year, the MKP expelled 15 Members of Parliament (MPs) weeks after they were sworn in, replacing them with new members.
Zuma dismissed National Assembly Chief Whip Colleen Makhubele in January this year. Her successor, Mmabatho Mokoena-Zondi, was arrested by the Hawks at the end of May on charges of fraud and extortion.
It is alleged that funds were demanded from individuals under the pretext that they were being collected to pay the legal fees of Zuma, who faces a long-running legal battle with the state over corruption charges.
Mokoena-Zondi’s party membership has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal corruption investigation.
Some analysts argue that by expelling a high-profile figure such as the former president’s daughter, the party leadership is attempting to demonstrate that institutional rules take precedence over personal relationships.
The MKP has been derided as a “family stokvel” or a private political vehicle for the benefit of the Zuma family. Zuma recently appointed Zuma-Sambudla’s twin brother, Duduzane, to the influential Presidential Task Team.
Zuma-Sambudla’s constant clashes with top leadership, without consequences, fuelled perceptions that the party was a family vehicle.
“The expulsion suggests that loyalty to the party’s central authority is the only metric for security within the organisation. Whether this creates a more stable institution or merely reinforces an environment of deep instability and mistrust remains a primary point of debate,” a political commentator told CAJ News Africa.
– CAJ News