If your name ever found its way into Former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s State Capture Report, Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) might have a job for you. It seems that the former president has adopted a “come to me all of you who are (allegedly) corrupt” approach to the appointing leadership within his party after he appointed convicted fraudster Joe Ndhlela as the party’s national organiser. 

In 2002, Ndhlela was convicted of three counts of fraud and one count of contravening the Companies Act in connection with his time as an executive at Transnet. He was sentenced to three years in prison. 

Now, as a national organiser, he will lead the MK Party’s political education, monitoring, governance and the establishment of structures. He replaces former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) vice president Floyd Shivambu, who has been promoted to Secretary General of the party. And it’s a family affair: Ndhlela’s son, Nhlamulo, is the party’s spokesperson, and his brother is the former South African Revenue Services Commissioner, Tom Moyane, who is also an MK Party member and has been fingered in the state capture reports, with Zondo recommending that he be charged with perjury for lying and providing false information to parliament about his shady activities at SARS. 

The Ndhlela/Moyane clan isn’t the party’s only State Capture royalty. Here are a few:

  • Former Cape Judge President John Hlophe is the party’s parliamentary chief whip. Hlophe was impeached earlier this year in a historic removal. 305 MPs voted to impeach Hlophe, making him one of the first judges to be dishonourably discharged from service in our democratic history.
  • Former Eskom CEO and corruption-accused Brian Molefe is also an MK Party MP. Molefe served as Transnet CEO from 2010 to 2015 and Eskom CEO from 2015 to 2016. In 2022, he was arrested on corruption charges linked to an R93-million corruption and fraud case involving purchasing locomotives for Transnet.
  • Former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) CEO Lucky Montana is another state-capture accused who is an MK Party MP. The Zondo Commission recommended that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should give “serious consideration” to the prospect of prosecuting Montana and that a special commission of inquiry should be established to investigate Prasa’s “slide into almost total ruin” during and after Montana’s tenure.

The leading man himself, Zuma, has finally been expelled from the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC’s National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal has upheld a decision to expel former ANC President Jacob Zuma from the party. But in true Zuma style, he has rejected his expulsion, saying that he does not recognise Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership of the ANC.🤣

But the question everyone’s asking is whether the MK Party will last or whether it’ll go limp like Mosiuoa Lekota’s Congress of the People (COPE). Shivambu is adamant that the MK Party will grow. Speaking at a press conference held last Wednesday, he said that the party’s first-anniversary rally would “communicate a simple message: uMkhonto weSizwe isn’t a temporary project.” He said the party was an organisation that seeks to unite marginalised communities and political parties. 

He’s not the only one who shares hope that the party will grow. Deputy chief whip, Mzikayise “Muzi” Ntshingila, told the City Press that he believed many influential leaders would join the party. “Some never thought the MKP would last beyond a year. But here we are, building and advancing with a fresh perspective on what politics should be,”  he said.

While it’s scary to think about, if the MK Party stopped playing musical chairs and chose more ethical members, they stand a chance to disrupt the South African political landscape even more than they already have.  For now, their internal chaos is fun to watch.

 

+ posts