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MK divisions deepen as Mpumalanga leaders Mkhwebane and Phadi hold rival meetings

MK divisions deepen as Mpumalanga leaders Mkhwebane and Phadi hold rival meetings
Flag at Durban Magistrate's Court on January 30, 2025 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Darren Stewart)
Nonkululeko Njilo
By Nonkululeko Njilo
18 Feb 2025
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Internal divisions within the uMkhonto Wesizwe party, the country’s official opposition, are escalating both behind closed doors and in public, with the conflict over who is the rightful provincial leader in Mpumalanga growing more intense.

This weekend, MK party supporters were forced to pick sides as former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and convenor of the province, business woman Mary Phadi, held separate meetings on the same day at separate venues, with Phadi drawing a noticeably larger crowd.   

In 2024, Phadi was suspended from the party over alleged misconduct, following which Mkhwebane was appointed to replace her. But her appointment was overturned when the courts ruled that Phadi’s suspension was unconstitutional. Despite this ruling the party continues to recognise Mkhwebane as the legitimate provincial boss — which possibly suggests that it is in contempt of court. 

After the 29 May 2024 elections the MK party made significant strides  in the province, securing nine seats in the provincial Legislature. Phadi is among those who occupy the seats, and continues to report for duty and draw a salary.

Mkhwebane’s gathering was aimed at welcoming “1,000” new members from various political parties in the Nkomazi Municipality — while Phadi’s had been a mass meeting, her first after the court ruled in her favour. 

Internal divisions


Flag at Durban Magistrate's Court on January 30, 2025 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Darren Stewart)



Internal divisions within the party are nothing new. In the past two weeks, it has faced two major conflicts. The first erupted between the party’s Secretary-General, Floyd Shivambu, and Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former president Zuma, who is also an MP.    

Read more: MK divisions — Duduzile Zuma offers partial apology after outburst against Floyd Shivambu 

Zuma-Sambudla went on a rant on X, making negative remarks and insulting Shivambu with comments suggesting he was “the worst thing that happened to MK”, “useless”, and calling him “Mafikizolo”, which loosely translates to “newcomer”. Hours after the incident Zuma instructed her to apologise or face expulsion after violating the party’s constitution, which she later did. 

The second and most recent dispute involved Dr John Hlophe and Mzwanele Manyi over the State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate. Hlophe, who reportedly had already written his own speech, was said to have been instructed by Manyi to discard it and read the version prepared by party leader Zuma instead. 

A divided caucus hampers the ability to function as an effective official opposition, particularly for a new party that needs a strong, unified front. Despite gaining more than 4 million votes nationally, the MK party is seemingly struggling to turn those votes into meaningful political power.

Speaking to Daily Maverick, Phadi said she was not responsible for a gathering that saw hundreds of MK supporters join a mass meeting that she addressed. 

“After my court case leaders came to me and said, ‘Can you please show  face at a mass meeting we are organising, because the ground wants you. We don’t understand why you are not showing face and allowing Mkhwebane to hold meetings,’” she said.   

“I don’t know how it turned out to have thousands of people and be a rally.” 

‘Hit the ground running’


At the rally, Phadi told supporters and leaders to hit the ground running before the 2026 local government elections, and also spoke out about the province’s representation in both the national assembly and the party’s highest decision-making body. 

“The province cannot be the second biggest but only have two representatives in the National Assembly and the national high command, especially the top eight; the leadership needs to balance the numbers,” Phadi said.  

She recalled that when she was approached by Zuma to lead the province: “One of the things I said was, ‘I will never betray you’. I still stand by those words.”    

The MK leadership has refused to comment on the ongoing battle of who is the rightful leader of the province. Head of Presidency, Magasela Mzobe, said: “We do not wish to comment at this present moment.”  

Pressed further to comment on calls for the party’s presidency to deal with the matter, and Phadi’s comments that she wished to reconcile with Zuma, Mzobe said: “Mary knows the correct channels to reach the president, we will not engage with her over the media.”  

Meanwhile national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela did not respond to the publication’s queries over two days. 

Among those who joined the MK ranks at the weekend is Johannes Mkhatshwa, an expelled ANC member. 

“We have been for the past 30 years claiming that we are in charge, we are leading but the economy is not in our hands. The ideology of the MK saying let us give people their land so that they can create job opportunities leaves me with no option but to go with the MK. The issue of land is in my heart,  the issue of liberating our people is in my heart,” he said. DM

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