Zuma purge rocks MK Party
Founder expelled on suspicions of working with ‘enemies’ of MK
Former president Jacob Zuma’s MK Party has been rocked by a purge of top leaders just weeks before elections on May 29, amid claims of “secret meetings” with ANC leaders and financial impropriety.
Claiming to be acting on “intelligence information”, the former president wielded the axe at a meeting of MK’s “leadership structure ”this week, in a move that claimed the scalp of party co-founder Jabulani Khumalo and four other senior figures.
The leadership cleanout comes after Zuma warned earlier this month against a scramble within the party for positions after the elections.
“We don’t want power-hungry people,” Zuma said outside the high court in Johannesburg, which was hearing his attempt to launch a private prosecution against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
With polls predicting that the MK Party could receive 8% of the vote on May 29, the leadership ructions are a setback.
At the centre of the allegations against the purged leaders are claims that they met in secret with the ANC behind Zuma’s back. Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela refused to share details but said the party could not turn a blind eye to the allegations.
Zuma is well known for using “intelligence information” to deal with adversaries. In 2015 he fired the then finance minister Pravin Gordhan on the basis of a report that he said suggested that Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, had travelled abroad to lobby international bodies against his government. He had to back down and reinstate Gordhan a few days later after it was established that the report was bogus.
Those expelled with Khumalo were treasurer-general Rochelle Davidson, Ray Khumalo, Bheki Manzini and Lebo Moepeng. The purge comes after the party removed its KwaZulu-Natal convener Nhlanhla Ngidi.
Others axed recently include the party’s youth league president, Bonginkosi Khanyile, his deputy Thapelo Maisha, Gaan Cibane, who served as interim secretarygeneral, and Philani Gazuzu Ndluli, who held the position of Gauteng co-ordinator.
The expulsions mean Zuma will have a tough task to rearrange his leadership in time for the elections.
Khumalo had been No 2 on the MK Party list. Apart from the accusation that he held secret meetings, insiders said he is also suspected of having raised money using the MK Party’s name — but the cash did not reach party coffers.
“He was complaining about money because Zuma takes party money to do whatever he wants with no consultation or accountability to structures. The problem with Khumalo is that he was starting to see himself as a leader and some elements within MK were influencing him, telling him he is the leader,” one source said.
“But he was getting money using the party name and it was not coming to the party so that became a problem, he was becoming a person who can be influenced by our enemies to betray us through money.”
But Ndlela denied that the fallout was over money. He spoke of “a myriad of activities” conducted by Khumalo that led to his expulsion — but did not elaborate.
“With any revolution there is always going to be an infiltration but it does not necessarily mean that is the basis for which a person will be expelled.
“What’s important to understand is that we are not a mad bunch of individuals, there are a lot of activities which have led to this,” he said.
“Initially he used to [drive] a Tigra with only one bodyguard. Then he moved from one bodyguard to two bodyguards.
“Then he went [on to drive] a MercedesBenz. Jabulani now has two Fortuners, four bodyguards and a new R2.7m Lexus. Now you tell me is that someone who struggles financially?”
Ndlela said the party would later share insights into what led to Khumalo’s expulsion. He laughed when asked if one of the allegations against Khumalo was holding secret meetings with ANC leaders.
Attempts to reach Khumalo failed as his phone rang unanswered. He did not respond to questions sent to him.
Before he was expelled, Khumalo was vocal about MK Party members who joined the party to score positions. Until the party made changes recently, Khumalo was registered as the MK Party president. He has since been replaced by Zuma.
The Electoral Commission (IEC) recently announced that Zuma’s face would appear on the ballot. However, he has another hurdle to clear as the commission’s appeal in the Constitutional Court against a decision by the Electoral Court has yet to be finalised.
The saga began when the IEC ruled that Zuma was not eligible to stand for parliament because of his contempt of court conviction and sentence. The Electoral Court supported the MK Party’s objection to this, ordering that Zuma could stand in the elections, prompting the IEC to go to the Constitutional Court.
Views on Khumalo’s expulsion were split among MK Party supporters on social media. While some were confused by Zuma’s decision, others expressed their full backing of the party’s leadership.