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EXPLAINER — what we know about Jacob Zuma’s new party

EXPLAINER — what we know about Jacob Zuma’s new party
Former president Jacob Zuma announces the formation of a new political party, uMkhonto Wesizwe, in Soweto on 16 December 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook)
Nonkululeko Njilo
By Nonkululeko Njilo
9 Jan 2024
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The newly launched uMkhonto Wesizwe party is arguably one of the most talked about developments in the run-up to the 2024 elections after it was publicly endorsed by former president Jacob Zuma in December. Almost a month later, there are more questions than answers, but here’s what we know so far.

The party was registered on 7 September 2023 by a man called Jabulani Sibongiseni Khumalo, according to a letter from the IEC, which was later shared by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. 

According to the document, the party’s official name is uMkhonto Wesizwe, MK for short, named after the former armed wing of the ANC.

It was launched in Soweto on 16 December 2023 – Reconciliation Day – which marked the 62nd anniversary of the founding of Umkhonto weSizwe. 

At the launch, Zuma said he could no longer vote or campaign for a Cyril Ramaphosa-led ANC and had opted to throw his weight behind the newly registered party, while stressing that he remained an ANC member.

“The new people’s war starts from today,” said Zuma, referencing the establishment of the ANC’s armed wing in 1961.

“The only crucial difference is that instead of the bullet, this time we will use the ballot.”

uMkhonto Wesizwe Former president Jacob Zuma addresses All African Alliance Movement members at White City Community Hall in Soweto on 5 January 2024. The MK Party, which has taken over communications for the former president, had confirmed that Zuma would deliver a speech at the gathering. It did not provide the motivation or reason for his appearance. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)


Whose idea was it?    


Khumalo registered the party but it has since emerged that Zuma might have been the brains behind its formation. 

In a press briefing by the All African Alliance Movement (AAAM) on 5 January, Bishop Meshack Thebe revealed that Zuma had “mandated” Khumalo to register the party.

Thebe then quickly brushed it off by saying, “You did not hear it from me.”

According to the Sunday Times, Zuma responded to Thebe’s comments with a “death stare”. 

AAAM has endorsed the MK party but little is known about AAAM itself, except for falsely claiming that former chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng was its 2024 presidential candidate and that it has 14 million followers.

At the launch of the party, Zuma said it was registered “with my knowledge and blessings”.

Zuma was clear that the formation of the party was a direct response to the current trajectory of the ANC, a common move for sidelined ANC members.

In the last year, former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule formed the African Congress for Transformation after he was expelled from the ANC. His erstwhile ally, Carl Niehaus, formed the African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance before joining the EFF.

uMkhonto Wesizwe Former president Jacob Zuma announces the formation of a new political party in Soweto on 16 December 2023. The launch of uMkhonto Wesizwe comes months before the 2024 general election that will mark 30 years since the end of apartheid. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook)


Can an opposition party use the MK name?


Calling a party uMkhonto Wesizwe is a direct provocation to the ANC, so much so that before its launch, Mbalula had said the ruling party intended to take the new party to court, saying the name belonged to the ANC.  

Daily Maverick, however, understands that the ANC only applied to have MK as a trademark at the end of September 2023 and it takes about two years for a trademark to be registered. 

Who else is in uMkhonto Wesizwe?


The party has not established any structures and will do so only after the election. This is to develop a “healthy organisation”, one in which people do not kill each other for positions, said Zuma on Saturday. 

“I am the one who said we will not choose structures. We will only have structures for the interim because we are building a healthy organisation here. We don’t want a party where people kill each other for positions; we won’t allow that,” Zuma told supporters.  

So far, the party has representatives, dubbed provincial coordinators, who will relinquish the positions after the elections according to one of the representatives.  

Jabulani Sibongiseni Khumalo, who registered the party, has described himself as a dissatisfied ANC member and former Umkhonto weSizwe soldier. However, multiple figures within both the ANC and MK have denied that Khumalo was ever an MK fighter.  

Thanduxolo “Gorbachev” Dyodo is reported to be the party’s acting secretary-general. He was the Johannesburg regional secretary of the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association as well as a councillor in the City of Johannesburg. 

Nhlamulo Ndhlela is the “interim” spokesperson. He is a staunch supporter of the ANC and has confirmed to the Mail & Guardian to be related to former tax boss, Tom Moyane. Ndhlela’s company, Lekgotla Outsourcing, reportedly scored a debt collection contract to collect R220-million worth of taxpayer debt.  

The ANC’s former Mkhondo Local Municipality mayor, Vusi Motha, has also joined uMkhonto Wesizwe after a brief stint with the EFF. He explained to City Press why he joined the party, “I am Zuma, and Zuma is us.”

Motha was arrested in January 2023 for the possession of an unlicensed firearm, which the police said they were testing to see if it was linked to the assassination of ANC councillor Sbonelo Mthembu, who was killed alongside Sizwe Mbingo and Sandile Khumalo. The case is still before the Mkhondo Magistrates’ Court.

According to City Press, Zuma’s new party is trying to recruit ANC leaders across the country and “promising them top positions”.

Who’s funding the party?


Contesting the elections is no easy feat, at least financially. The IEC announced that for 2024, political parties would need R300,000 to compete in the national election and R200,000 for all regional elections, plus R25,000 per regional election, among other fees. 

It remains unclear who is funding uMkhonto Wesizwe. Shortly after its launch, speculation was rife that Sukunjalo chairperson Iqbal Survé was funding the party, but the embattled businessman has denied the claims.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Fact-Check — Is Iqbal Survé the funder behind Jacob Zuma's new political party? 

No businessman or prominent leader has publicly admitted to funding the party, except for the former ANC mayor, Vusi Motha. According to News24, Motha splurged R400,000 on the party’s gathering in Mkhondo, Mpumalanga, over the weekend.

Describing his business dealings, Motha told News24, “My businesses are too many to count.”

What are uMkhonto Wesizwe’s policies?


The party has not clearly articulated what it stands for and so far, it appears largely centred on Zuma’s grievances. The former president has described it as an attempt to save the ANC and “rescue our organisation from this un-ANC behaviour”.

At its launch, he railed against what he described as the role of “white minority capital” in the current ANC; how Ramaphosa’s campaign spending led to the party’s “stolen” 2017 conference, and how the party has been unfairly sidelining members through the step-aside rule.

“The single aim is to steer the ship of total liberation from colonialism back on course by uniting Africans across the country, the African continent and the African diaspora behind the battle for land, justice and radical transformation towards economic freedom. 

“There can never be reconciliation without socio-economic justice and equality,” Zuma said.

Zuma accused the ruling party of manufacturing the ongoing power crisis in the country.  

“I made a statement that there would never be load shedding and we were supposed to have no load shedding up to now… The people who came back wanted it because, as people say, they wanted to use the kind of business that will grow their companies – that’s what happened.

“They chased the people who stopped load shedding and removed them from the companies, and actually wanted to arrest them,” said Zuma.

Former president Jacob Zuma announces the formation of a new political party, uMkhonto Wesizwe, in Soweto on 16 December 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook)


Who will be the face of MK?    


It remains unclear who exactly will be the face of the party. Speculation is rife that it will be Zuma himself and some reports have suggested his name will be on the ballot.

There’s also been talk that Zuma’s son, Duduzane, who has on numerous occasions expressed his presidential aspirations, might lead the party.

Duduzane has been touted for the position, according to an MK representative who asked not to be named. “There are many names that are on the table, and they are all being looked at.” 

Duduzane has however indicated that he will soon announce his new political party. In an interview with Sunday World at the weekend, Duduzane was asked if he would be part of Zuma’s MK party and he responded, “I am part of something new, something game-changing, something current. [It will be] something never seen before, something realistic and inclusive that is on its way very soon.” 

It is unclear how Duduzane could launch a viable new party before the elections without a clear constituency and a polished campaign. 

How will MK fare in the elections?  


The existence of MK is certainly giving the ANC a headache, particularly in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal. While it has set its eyes on unseating the ANC, political analysts say this is unlikely to be the case.  

Interim spokesperson Ndlela told City Press that within less than a week of launching, there had been more than three million hits on its website. Daily Maverick could not verify this highly unlikely figure. 

Political analyst William Gumede said uMkhonto Wesizwe’s danger to the ANC was that it could help reduce the party’s support in KwaZulu-Natal to around 40% and below 50% nationally. 

“It is also likely to take votes from the EFF. Both parties – along with Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation – are fishing in the same ANC voter pond,” he wrote in an article in the Sunday Times.

Political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the ANC could be dealt a significant blow: “I initially thought the message that would be pitched by the MK would be confined to KZN, but now Zuma has joined forces with AAAM, meaning he’s joined forces with religious leaders, which is strategic as it is embedded throughout the length and breadth of the country.”

Speaking in Mpumalanga this weekend, Zuma was reported to have said, “We will win the elections by a two-thirds majority and then save and clean [up] the ANC. Eventually, we will decide if we go with the ANC or MK. We don’t hate the ANC, but the actions of leaders who have sold the party.” DM

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