Ordinary members of the Umkhonto WeSizwe Party (MKP) are fearful of a “witch-hunt” within the party, saying their concerns are based on the number of party leaders who are being purged “on spurious grounds”.
Two members, one deployed as an MP and another at branches in the Midlands area, have said the lack of elected structures in the party was a serious problem that needed to be addressed urgently.
“The Mercury” also spoke to a member of the party who was instrumental in building the party’s support on the ground, who agreed that the lack of elected structures had opened the door to the party being misused.
The party recently removed 18 MPs, saying they were not the people it wanted to send to Parliament, raising questions about how they had made it to the party’s list. And it recently axed its secretary-general, Arthur Zwane, for the second time in a matter of weeks.
It has also emerged that members from KwaZulu-Natal recently visited party leader Jacob Zuma to discuss the issue of leadership structures.
A party leader at branch level spoke of fears among members, “It seems there is a witch-hunt going on in the party. Someone who wants to tarnish someone else’s name just whispers to the party leader allegations, and the accused person is expelled.
“One of the senior leaders was expelled after allegations surfaced that they had misappropriated funds, but no one has proved that this is the case.
Another leader was expelled for having been related to someone who is in the ANC, (based on this) he was accused of being an ANC spy.
“There is just a lot of instability in the party, there was suspicion over the interim structures at branch level in the Midlands and these were suspended but have since been reinstated,” said the member.
The source said the party appeared to be consumed by infighting. “If you compare the programme that was in place heading to the elections and what is happening now, there is nothing happening now, there is no meaningful programme, it is just infighting.”
“The party is dying, the whole project is looking like a Zuma thing,” he said adding that the party could still recover in the interests of the public and do well in the 2026 local government elections if it addressed the issue of stability.
Speaking on the recent dismissals of MPs, the MP said this was not a sign of chaos.
“The party has the right to put whoever it wants there. The people who are being removed were put on the list in a fraudulent manner and that is why they are being removed.
“They were told that they will be removed to make way for a legitimate member of the party.”
He said those who voted for the party had not expressed concern about the unfolding drama, saying “we are a new party and we are doing things that haven’t been done before and people understand that”.
Leaders and political analysts said recent the drama had not undermined the party’s standing in the eyes of its voters.
Political analyst Thabani Khumalo, said despite the chaos unfolding in the party, the MK Party was poised to grow even more, provided it had stable structures in place.
“The issue in the party is a result of the lack of structures. “At the moment the party is run by one person and their word is final and the person leading the party was in the intelligence of the ANC.
“He feels betrayed by some of the people that had benefited from his government and later abandoned him, so there is still a feeling that he needs to make sure that this never happens again,” he said.
Khumalo said the party had to address the issue of structures as it was the only party that still had the capacity to grow and do well in the next local government elections.
“If Zuma goes out and communicates his decisions, people are likely to see him as decisive despite all the other alleged flaws, and the country is crying out for decisive leadership,” said Khumalo.
MK Party national spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, said no decision had been taken on when the party’s elective conference would be held.
Asked about the reports of a meeting between KZN MK Party members and Zuma, he said, “people from all over the country visit Zuma regularly, I have no idea what was discussed there.”
He dismissed the allegations of a witch-hunt, saying “in the party there are dynamics because you are dealing with people, but we do not run this party on rumours, it is run on facts.”
The Mercury