“Zuma Rallies Behind Shivambu Amid MK Party Turmoil”

uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party president Jacob Zuma has no intention of removing secretary general Floyd Shivambu, despite calls from some regions for his removal, according to the party’s head of presidency, Magasela Mzobe.

“The president and the collective leadership of the MK party have full confidence in the secretary general and the president has no intention of removing him. If comrades have got issues with him, they can raise them but the intention must not be to remove him,” Mzobe told the Mail & Guardian on Monday.

His comments come after a letter from Mxolisi Mthethwa — an eMalahleni zone coordinator, abaQulusi sub-region, Zululand region — in which Mthethwa called for Shivambu to be removed from the position because of his “performance and behaviour”.

The letter is dated 8 February 2025 and addressed to Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Sambudla-Zuma, who has also been rumoured to be in favour of or in a faction that wants Shivambu removed from his position.

Mthethwa wrote that Shivambu had consistently demonstrated an inability to provide effective leadership, guidance and direction in the organisation.

He accused Shivambu of making decisions without consulting relevant stakeholders, leading to “unwise choices”.

“This is evident in the abuse of power of [the] secretary general’s leadership where key decisions concerning constituency offices are made without consultation. The secretary general failed to communicate effectively with constituency office staff members, members of the KZN provincial high command and the caucus office of the KZN province, which led to confusion, mistrust and disunity.”

Mthethwa said Shivambu had shown a lack of understanding and competence in key areas of responsibility, leading to poor decision-making and ineffective management.

He alleged that Shivambu had also been unprofessional, including by not paying the constituency staff or rent for buildings used as offices in KwaZulu-Natal.

He suggested that for these reasons, the party should conduct a thorough investigation into Shivambu’s performance and behaviour. “Take disciplinary action, up to and including removal from office, if necessary.”

But Mzobe said everything Shivambu was doing was sanctioned by Zuma and the collective leadership of the party.

He said remarks from “unhappy people within the organisation” were expected.

“The truth is … there are people who would not like an organised MK that takes decisions organisationally.

“They would prefer an MK that behaves as though there’s no centre. Because Floyd is the one that must write letters as an SG and communicate decisions, they think it is his decision.”

Mzobe said because the party was formed just before the national and provincial elections of May 2024, it was only focused on those elections. “Now it must take decisions and they think Floyd is taking decisions without the knowledge of the president, which is far from the truth. The truth is Floyd does not write a single letter without a meeting deciding on those things”

A source in the MK national high command said the letter by Mthethwa was to be expected, but it would not change anything.

The source said the work of secretary general “is very difficult as they are tasked with disciplining people and disbanding structures”.

No one should be alarmed by what was happening, added the source.

“The letter is meant to be divisive, if someone wrote a letter about [president Cyril] Ramaphosa, we already know that there are people who do not like him in the ANC. Nobody can be liked by everybody.”

Last month, the party suspended members allegedly involved in the unlawful registration of a candidate for the by-elections in Msunduzi municipality’s ward 2 Sweetwater that took place in December.

Residents nominated Nkosikhona Mshengu as their preferred candidate, but the then-provincial leadership submitted Sthabiso Nkabinde’s name to the Electoral Commission of South Africa, which resulted in the ANC winning the ward.

The MK party’s eThekwini regional spokesperson, BF Dlamini, said the region remains firm, united and in support of their provincial and national leadership.

“We do not know where divisions come from but we do not have any divisions,” he said.

Mail & Guardian