The MK Party has come under increased focus following the leaking of letters, with one calling for action against Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, and another wanting the party’s newly appointed chief whip to be removed.
While the MK party has maintained that there is no instability within the party, its former Secretary General, Floyd Shivambu, has established committees to evaluate the need for a new party while being a member of the MK party.
Speaking on VOC Newsbeat, Sanet Solomons, a political analyst based in the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of Free State, argues that the MK party is not well run, operating more like a family business than the official opposition.
“I think that it is more of a family organization than an actual political party, which is quite worrying,” stated Solomons.
Solomon points this critique primarily at the position of Duduzile Zuma, describing her lack of a formal position at the party as worrying given her influence on its operations.
“I think at some point the question becomes why doesn’t she take a formal role at the political party because she is obviously interested in the management of the political party and the direction it is taking, but at this point it is quite unclear what her formal role is and what she seeks to do and achieve with this party because informally she seems to be pulling the strings,” adds Solomons.
An added confusion in the landscape of the MK party is the position of Floyd Shivambu, who, while being demoted from Secretary General to a Member of Parliament, had not been sworn into the National Assembly. For Solomons, the ousting of Shivambu from the party’s executive is a failed opportunity for the party to grow, with his demotion from secretary general hurting the optics of the party.
“I think he could have grown in the political party, and I think he had a lot to offer to the political party. It is quite concerning, and I start to question accountability in the political party when you offer someone a position and then retract that promise, which is what we have seen in this instance, and then say it’s a form of punishment for not following the party line,” said Solomons.
