By 
With the damaging information coming to the fore, that Jacob Zuma allegedly unknowingly to the ANC met with Chris Hani’s killer secretly in 2004, and that he also met with Eugene de Kock secretly in April 2009 are damaging revelations with fatal insinuations to the killing of Chris Hani following the release of Janusz Walus.
The entrance of uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) into the political landscape of South Africa has been a game changer, and a shock to the eco-system.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) were sure that they will become the ruling party after the May 2024 National and Provincial Elections, if not, they were set to become the official opposition party. But MKP had a surprise for all political parties including the unsuspecting citizens of South Africa.
To everyone’s surprise; the MKP with just a few months in existence, became the third largest party in the land, pushing the EFF to fourth place. It received huge voter support with disgruntled members of the ANC and EFF jumping ship to the MKP.
The one trick that worked for the MKP then, was the surprise element, no one saw them coming. To top it off, while the disciplinary issue was still on-going in the African National Congress (ANC) against Jacob Zuma; he used it to his advantage and played the victim card, which in turn got him sympathy votes.
The name itself, uMkhonto weSizwe has sentimental value to the black nation as it represents an era whereby black people were oppressed and the military wing of the ANC was fighting the apartheid regime for the freedom of black people.
Now that everything is out in the open, political parties are now aware of MKP and its strategies, and has earned itself an enemy in the EFF and the ANC; it is doubtful that the MKP will repeat its success or even grow from it.
Recent by-elections in municipal wards give an indication on what is on the ground. In September 2024, the MKP only managed to win one seat in KZN; in the most recent by-elections held in Thabazimbi, Limpopo, on 4 December 2024, the party only received a mere 3%. The IEC showed that the EFF is third largest party at 11.57%, the ANC is leading at 41.18% and the DA is second with 16.19%.
One may argue that it is still early days to actually draw a conclusion on the future of the MKP; but stats show that the party lacks political footprint across the country. It still has to grow to the level of its competition in all provinces.
The ANC and the EFF have gone back to their drawing board, what will emerge from that is a fierce aggressive strategy to win back their voter support and grow their support base; this may result in the MKP losing momentum to the more experienced and bigger established parties.
MKP is likely to lose relevance if their politics don’t change; their leader’s obsession with taking the ANC back compromises the party’s ability to focus on more pressing matters that affect community. Revenge is at the heart of the MKP, still holding on to an x who clearly has moved on. The victim card is also reaching its limit, age is also a worrying factor and the party is saturated with questionable names.
In politics, reputation is everything hence character assassination is one of the most effective weapons used to destroy one’s political career. Zuma is known for being one of the most divisive characters and is already proving itself true within the MKP with infightings and firings; up to a point, the EFF and the ANC don’t have to do much, Zuma will destroy his own party.
It’s been a year since its inception, and yet still no elective conference in sight. With the damaging information coming to the fore, that Jacob Zuma allegedly unknowingly to the ANC met with Chris Hani’s killer secretly in 2004, and that he also met with Eugene de Kock secretly in April 2009 are damaging revelations with fatal insinuations to the killing of Chris Hani following the release of Janusz Walus.
It will be very easy for political parties to go for Zuma’s character as he has been tied up numerous scandals; both the EFF, the ANC and its alliance will spare no punches. The MKP stole the name of the ANC military wing uMkhonto weSizwe and some ANC members; still, the MKP went shopping into EFF’s basket pouching its members. This is a declaration of war, both parties will in way seek to defend themselves from and destroy MKP.
