Some social media users claim that secretary-general of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), Floyd Shivambu, might be replaced with Duduzane Zuma-Sambudla, the son of party leader Jacob Zuma. File picture: Timothy Bernard/ Independent Newspapers
Image: Timothy Bernard/ Independent Newspapers
uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) head of Presidency, Magasela Mzobe, defended the party’s secretary general Floyd Shivambu and member of Parliament, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, following reports that the two were not seeing eye-to-eye.
Some social media users claimed that Shivambu might be replaced with Duduzane Zuma, the son of party leader Jacob Zuma and Zuma-Sambudla’s twin brother.
On Wednesday evening, Mazobe posted on X to crush rumors about the internal squabbles and said that Shivambu and Zuma-Sambudla were crucial party members.
“Commanders and ground forces of the MK Party stay focused on the task. Comrade Floyd, the SG of the MK Party, is NOT going anywhere. He remains a trusted SG by President Zuma and the organisation,” read the X post.
“Comrade Duduzile is going nowhere, too; she remains a trusted part of the leadership collective of the MK Party. The social media hype created to confuse MK Party members must be ignored. Both comrades are very close to me and are crucial to the growth of MK Party as we prepare for 2026 Local Government Elections.”
Shivambu was the deputy president of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) before he defected to the MK Party, initially as the national organiser before he was appointed as the secretary general in August last year.
The secretary-general position became vacant after Sifiso Maseko's resignation and Arthur Zwane's removal.
Last week, the MK Party Chief Whip in Parliament, Mzwanele Manyi, posted on X dismissing rumors that Zuma-Sambudla was targeting Shivambu.
"Shivambu is solid as a rock in the MK Party. Take it from me, I'm fresh from Nkandla," Manyi wrote on X.
Manyi also defected from the EFF, where he was a member of Parliament, before joining the MK Party as the Chief Whip in Parliament.
Both Shivambu and Manyi have faced criticism and were accused by EFF supporters of betraying the party, with EFF leader Julius Malema saying his party should remove everything that reminded them of Shivambu.
The EFF's former national chairperson, Dali Mpofu, also joined the MK Party.
However, Shivambu has maintained that there was no bad blood between him and Malema.
“2024 was the year of the best decision ever — 2025 will be the year for a practical, ground-up, organic, collective, honest, and disciplined demonstration that the MK Party is the correct instrument and vehicle for the unification of all progressive forces. No retreat,” Shivambu said.
The dynamics in the MK Party got even more interesting as Zuma-Sambudla and Malema remained close friends and were often seen taking pictures together.
However, in politics, two minutes is very long, and anything can happen; this is reflexive in the recent EFF court application seeking remedial action against Zuma.
This was in relation to two matters; the review of remedial action in the Public Protector’s report in relation to Nkandla and the application to not be held liable for the legal costs linked to his attempt to withdraw his urgent application to interdict then Public Protector, Adv. Thuli Madonsela.
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