Floyd Shivambu wants to know if he should start a political party.
That was the upshot of his dramatic press conference today, capping months of tumult for the politician formerly of the EFF, formerly of the ANC Youth League, and probably soon-to-be formerly of the MK Party.
We told you a few weeks ago about Floyd Shivambu’s demotion from MK Party Secretary General to ordinary MP. MKP leader Jacob Zuma then slammed him without naming him at a Youth Day address on Monday. Things weren’t exactly easy before then, with reports of plenty of clashes with other people in the party, chief of which was MKP princess, aka Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.
Now, just months after dramatically quitting the EFF, Shivambu is teasing the idea of starting his own political outfit. At the same time, he’s refusing to resign from the MKP.
At a press conference at a Midrand hotel this afternoon, Shivambu said he’ll be going on a “listening tour” to consult ordinary South Africans—plus a few big names like Irvin Khoza and Patrice Motsepe—about whether the country needs a new political party. He insists it wouldn’t be a “personal project,” but a people-led initiative that avoids the traps he says plague today’s world.
He was fired as MKP secretary-general ostensibly because of an unsanctioned visit to fugitive Shepherd Bushiri’s church in Malawi. At his conference, he linked his removal with false accusations that he was trying to oust Zuma and dabbling in, um, alleged witchcraft. As we said, it was dramatic.
Shivambu now says he won’t go back to the EFF—calling it a “cult”—nor the ANC. Instead, he’s trying to carve out a new lane, claiming he’s learned more under Zuma than in a decade with Malema. Ouch.
This latest pivot may be less about public demand and more about political survival. As we noted earlier this week, Shivambu has made a habit of burning bridges—and it’s unclear whether voters want another new party or just leaders who can get their act together.
