Durban — Speculation is growing that the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) could sack some of its 37 members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature (MPLs).
This follows on the back of the former president, now leader of the MKP, unceremoniously recalling 18 of the party’s 58 MPs at the weekend.
But MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela poured cold water on the claims, saying: “I don’t know of such. I don’t know about any speculation that some of our MPLs in KZN could be recalled.”
Ndhlela alleged that the leadership was aware of some party members who were allegedly sent by the ANC to destabilise the MKP.
A party MPL told the Daily News that their future in the legislature as MKP MPLs was uncertain, adding that they had got wind that some MPLs could be axed.
“It’s bad. We can’t even focus on the job at hand because we don’t know whether we are safe or we will suffer the same fate as our comrades in the National Assembly,” said an MKP MPL, who spoke strictly on condition of anonymity.
Another MPL said: “I don’t think people should be worried as long as they are not doing things that are amiss. I am worried about speculations that some of our MPLs might be sacked. I have full confidence in all the decisions that the party is currently implementing.”
The party has claimed that some of its members were ANC spies bent on sowing divisions in the party.
The party vowed to weed out all the infiltrators if there was evidence linking them to any wrongdoing – including collaborating with the ANC, the MKP’s sworn enemy.
After the MKP managed to win 37 seats in KZN, there were claims by some party members that the provincial list of members to the legislature had been manipulated to block some members from going to the legislature.
Some even went to Zuma’s house in Nkandla, in the north of KZN, to voice their concerns and grievances.
The Daily News had previously reported that Zuma had assembled a team of his most trusted allies to hunt the alleged infiltrators in the MKP.
Meanwhile, the MKP will on Tuesday (today) face off with the SABC in a case lodged by the party wanting the public broadcaster to stop using the phrase “Government of National Unity (GNU)”, claiming it was wrong for the current government to be called by this name.
The name was coined by President Cyril Ramaphosa after the ANC, DA and IFP agreed to team up after the elections to form the government along with other smaller parties, including the UDM.
However, the DA’s federal council chairperson broke ranks recently and conceded for the first time that the current government was not a GNU because it did not include all the parties, as the MKP and the EFF were not part of the power deal.
Instead, Helen Zille argued that the current government was a coalition between the ANC and the DA – raising the ire of some senior leaders in the ANC – like secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and his 1st deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane.
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