MK Party purge of rogues not done yet

THE uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party is not done purging members it suspects of being “rogues working with external forces” from the newly formed party.

This was the promise made by MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela after the ANC splinter party expelled five of its members, including Jabulani Khumalo, who is credited with registering the party at the Electoral Commission of SA.

Speaking to Cape Argus sister paper The Mercury yesterday, Ndhlela said more expulsions could be on the cards, especially if they continued to undermine the party.

“We will be holding a media briefing to unpack the party’s action and what we have found. We started (expulsions) at national level, and are still going to be coming down to provinces,” he said.

In a statement on Friday, the MKP said there had been attempts by external forces working with people in the party to destabilise it, and as a result it had expelled several people, including Khumalo.

“We want to categorically state that the national leadership core will always act and make decisions in the interests of all patriotic South Africans who want to see change.

“We urge all MK members to be disciplined and trust the leadership as we work towards gaining support for a campaign that will emancipate the down-trodden people of our country,” said the statement.

Ndhlela was scathing about his former comrades.

“These people were becoming a cancer in the organisation and their actions risked collapsing it and the party had to act to put a stop to that.”

Ndhlela said the “intelligence” report that the party has in its possession had shown that these members were “being bought” by external people to influence the organisation.

“We can’t complain about the ANC being bought and then here we are, being bought.”

The MKP spokesperson said the expulsions would have no impact on the running of the party, pointing out that an interim structure was in place and new people would be brought in to fill the vacancies that have been left by those expelled. He described Khumalo as a non-entity in the party.

“He had no role in the organisation, his was a ceremonial role. The party has always had one president and that is president Jacob Zuma.”

The Mercury tried to reach Khumalo on the phone without success.

The latest round of expulsions, especially that of Khumalo, took many political experts by surprise.

Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said friction was to be expected because of the varied calibre of people who joined, adding the situation could worsen if the party does well.

“If they garner enough votes to propel the party to the centre of forming a government, that is when this situation is likely to get much worse with the competition being fierce. That is when we will see only the strong survive,” said Khumalo.

Khumalo said the manner in which it disposed of the person who registered the party speaks volumes about the organisation’s decisiveness and could in fact prove to be a positive attribute with the voters.

Siyabonga Ntombela, a lecturer of politics at the UKZN, said the move was stunning.

“How do you expel someone who founded the party? This goes back to what I have been saying, that the leadership, especially if the party secures seats in Parliament, will be endorsed by Zuma. I believe (he) has no intention of going back to Parliament.

“This is consolidation, it will give Zuma the power to say this or that person can go to Parliament.”

He said the developments were unlikely to harm the party at the polls, adding that those who joined were following Zuma, not the MK.