Former president Jacob Zuma is criss-crossing the country campaigning for the MK party. Photo supplied
Durban — uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) will not be rushing into revealing its presidential candidate and will make pronouncements in that regard only once the election date has been declared.
Although former president Jacob Zuma is leading the party campaigns across the country, its president is Jabulani Khumalo.
Khumalo, from KwaZulu-Natal, told the Daily News on Monday that the decision to appoint a presidential candidate had not been taken, adding that he was the president of the party although Zuma was leading the campaigns.
“Wait for the election date, then we will pronounce on our presidential candidate,” said Khumalo who also denied that the party had approached former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to lead it.
Using its party insiders’ information, the paper reported on Monday that MK was lobbying Zuma to be the face of the election campaign after Judge Mogoeng’s apparent reluctance to forgo his state benefits as a judge if he accepted the nomination.
Legal expert advocate Mpumelelo Zikalala said judges were regarded as employed by the state even after their retirement. They were receiving their full salaries.
He said that if the former chief justice decided to accept a nomination to go to Parliament, he would first have to resign as a judge. The judge would then lose his salary and other benefits.
Judge Mogoeng was also approached by the All African Alliance Movement to be its leader but he turned down the request.
AAAM founder Archbishop Nchime Tsekedi confirmed to the paper on Monday that when the party was founded, the former chief justice had agreed to take up the position but had changed his mind in September and ended ties with the party.
Tsekedi said the AAAM had then travelled to Nkandla to approach former president Zuma to lead AAAM but he had also turned it down, telling them about the plans to register the MK party.
Explaining their agreement with MK on Friday, he said his party and Zuma had agreed to form a union but not a coalition or merger. A union meant that the AAAM would campaign and vote for MK since, as church people, they did not want to directly participate in politics or in the government but rather play a supportive role in the party they shared an ideology with.
In October last year, Judge Mogoeng, speaking on television, said that on three occasions, God had told him that he would be president of the country without having joined a party or campaigned for the position.
WhatsApp your views on this story at 071 485 7995.
Daily News