KZN ANC needs to replace ‘wrecking ball’ leadership as Zuma's MK Party triumphs at polls

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is facing its biggest existential threat yet just three months after a devastating loss in the general elections on 29 May.

The party was reduced from a commanding position of power to only 14 seats in the 80-seat provincial legislature. This forced the ANC in the province to become a weaker partner in the government of provincial unity led by premier Thami Ntuli of the IFP and comprising members of his party, the ANC, the DA and the National Freedom Party.

Waning support

On Wednesday, 28 August, the ANC kept bleeding electoral support to its opponents, especially its archrival, Jacob Zuma’s new political empire, the MK Party.

eThekwini Municipality’s Ward 34 is one of the biggest in the region, comprising suburbs and informal settlements, in which the ANC has always been strong. It was traditionally a DA ward, with the ANC always the runner-up. But on Wednesday, it was won by an independent candidate, Andrew Akkers, with 43% of the vote. MK took second place with 19%, followed by the ANC (18%) and the DA (15%). Akkers is the chairperson of the Ward 34 Residents and Ratepayers Association (RRA) and a  non-aligned community activist.

Read more: MK shocks ANC, EFF in Marikana while DA has a night of mixed fortunes in ward polls

These by-elections are the latest setbacks for the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.

Strippers and retainers

The Sunday Times reported on 25 August that the ANC’s national working committee (NWC) had decided to replace the provincial leadership with a task team that will deal with the divisions and other structural challenges the party is facing.

This was strongly denied by a media statement from Luthuli House. It admitted that frank discussions on the party’s performance in the election had taken place, but said no decision to strip the provincial exe­cutive’s powers had been taken.

The NWC is expected to brief the national executive committee (NEC) about the meeting with provincial ANC structures, and it will be up to the latter to decide what action, if any, will be taken.

TimesLive reported that a  team made up of national executive committee deployees to KwaZulu-Natal, Sibongile Besani and David Mahlobo, elders who previously led the province such as Sbu Ndebele, Mike Mabuyakhulu and Peggy Nkonyeni and members of Mkhonto Wesizwe Liberation War Veterans, will head a  programme of rebuilding the ANC in the province.

David Mahlobo was a close ally of former president Jacob Zuma, now the ANC's KZN nemesis as MK party leader, who  appointed him as State Security Minister during  the peak years of State Capture.

As Marianne Thamm reported, when Mahlobo was summoned to testify at the Zondo Commission, he had already been accused, alongside State Security Agency (SSA) head Arthur Fraser, of participating in the development of a shadow state.

In the general election, the ANC lost its footing in northern KwaZulu-Natal to the IFP, and eThekwini, Msunduzi, the Midlands and the South Coast to MK.

eThekwini is the ANC’s biggest region and has always been regarded as its biggest source of support in the province. Just more than 1.2 million votes were cast in the municipality in the general poll. MK took 48%, followed by the DA with 23% and the ANC with 14%. The ANC’s support was obliterated in its former strongholds of Umlazi, Inanda and KwaMashu.

No response

Mafika Mndebele, KwaZulu-Natal ANC spokesperson, declined to answer a list of questions sent by Daily Maverick last week.

The current provincial ANC leadership – with Sboniso Duma as chairperson and Bheki Mtolo as secretary – came into power after a bruising and divided electoral conference in July 2022 and has less than a year of its three-year term remaining. It has faced one crisis after another.

It was so easy for Jacob Zuma’s party to just walk in and take our people.

Other ANC structures are worried about the state of the party in KZN and some said they were hoping that Luthuli House would take drastic action before the party suffered further losses in the province.

One ANC veteran and former KwaZulu-Natal executive committee member, who asked not to be named, said: “Before 2004, we fought very hard to win votes from the IFP and take over the province. But over the years the ANC leadership in KZN has been weakening.

“This leadership is the worst of its kind. The instability in the party is unbelievable, the structures are dysfunctional and ANC branches are in disarray. It was so easy for Jacob Zuma’s party to just walk in and take our people,” he said.

“The leadership doesn’t want to take responsibility for this. All they seem to be saying is that the MK Party was able to take supporters from all political parties. Privately, they say [President Cyril] Ramaphosa moved the ANC from 57% to 40% in 2024, but nobody is calling for his ouster.

“But we are saying that the duty of the provincial leadership is to work closely with branches and the region to preserve and grow the organisation. But it is clear that the centre is not holding. That is why we are saying that the NEC must come to our rescue and disband this so-called leadership so that we can have a reset to build the ANC from scratch, branch by branch.”

He blamed Mtolo for being the “single-biggest wrecking ball” since becoming provincial secretary. “That position is often reserved for diplomatic comrades who are well versed and able to articulate the ANC’s position on any particular issue.

“Bheki Mtolo, on the other hand, has been picking... unnecessary fights with everyone. At the moment he is trading punches with [trade union] Nehawu over a frivolous issue. They are taking each other to court. Instead of focusing all his attention on building the party, he is picking fights.”

There is not much that the ANC can do now to counter the MK Party. The damage has been done.

Other party supporters are calling for the NEC to bring forward an elective conference. A member of the ANC’s Moses Mabhida (Midlands) regional executive said the NWC members were briefed about the issues. “We informed the NWC that we are not getting any support from the provincial office,” he said, adding: “It is clear to all that something has to give. We cannot go on like this forever. Everyone is not happy in the ANC – the branches, the regions and even the alliance partners.

“Cosatu and the SACP, for example, are lobbying for former eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo to come in and rescue the ANC, and others are eyeing [former ANC youth leader] Sifiso Sonjica to be elevated to the top so that he can rejuvenate the ANC in KZN,” he said.

Organisational crisis

Zakhele Ndlovu, a senior politics lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the ANC in the province was at a crossroads. He said the local leadership thought they could contain and counter Zuma and MK, and were shocked by the results of the elections.

“The ANC in KZN is in crisis because it doesn’t seem like the leadership is taking responsibility for the dismal performance in the polls. The emergence of the MK Party exposed how weak and disorganised the ANC in KZN is.

“There is not much that the ANC can do now to counter the MK Party. The damage has been done and whatever it does now will only be an exercise in damage control.

“The fundamental weaknesses are incompetent leadership and a poor governance record. The KZN ANC leadership does not inspire confidence,” Ndlovu said.

Wayne Sussman, an independent political and election analyst, also believes the standing and influence of the ANC will continue to wane in KZN unless something drastic is done.

“I think Duma and Mtolo are not the charismatic leaders the ANC had before. Zuma was able to outsmart them, charm ANC supporters and bring them into the MK fold.

“Now the ANC is only a junior partner in the KZN government. It remains to be seen whether the three ANC KwaZulu-Natal MECs – in health, education and transport – will be able to use their positions to stand out and gain credit for the ANC and restore the trust of the public.

“But what is clear is that the ANC is facing an uphill battle in KZN. In the next two weeks there will be by-elections in former ANC wards in the Ray Nkonyeni (South Coast) and Mpofana (Midlands) local municipalities, and we will see whether the waning of the ANC continues, or the MK Party continues its momentum.

“It is important that the ANC changes tack, stops losing support and readies itself for the 2026 local government elections, or else forget about its chances of ever contesting for power in KwaZulu-Natal,” Sussman said. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.