Leadership controversy may threaten the MK Party's electoral prospects

Controversy and ructions that have impacted the Umkhonto We Sizwe party (MKP) are diminishing its standing in the eyes of the voters.

This is according to political analysts who were commenting on the party's prospects ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

Analysts said the party is likely to do well as a disruptor, but not as a governing majority party in any municipality.

Party members in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands area also expressed skepticism about the party's prospects in light of the ongoing challenges, saying factions are beginning to consume the party, and the leadership challenges have weakened the much-needed morale among members heading to the next local government elections.

The party parliamentary leader, John Hlophe, is under suspension for suspending the chief whip, Collen Makhubele, without consulting other leadership structures in the party and at a time when the party leader, Jacob Zuma, was out of the country. When Zuma returned, he overturned the suspension of Makhubele.

In suspending Hlophe, the party said, "This decision is meant to affirm and send a strong message on the principle of collective leadership across all structures within the uMkhonto weSizwe Party."

“The leadership of the MK Party remains firmly united and committed to upholding the principles of discipline, accountability, and collective decision-making as enshrined in the Party Constitution. This decision should be viewed as a demonstration of the Party’s unwavering commitment to internal party discipline and collective leadership,” it said.

In another recent development, there is an allegation that R70 million in parliamentary funds allocated to the MK Party may be unaccounted for and some party members are calling for a forensic probe.

However according to an eNCA report, MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela has refuted the allegation and added that there was no letter calling for a forensic probe.

The party has had several leadership controversies even from its inception with Jabulani Khumalo initially claiming he was the owner of MKP. 

Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said the MKP would still likely do well in the next elections, but not as well as it could have had it managed its affairs properly.

“After the national government elections, the MKP was supposed to conduct an introspection, ask itself what it had done to garner so much support from the public and what it must do to retain it. Unfortunately, they never did that; they behaved and thought they were entitled to the support to the extent that the leadership crises and the controversies surrounding the party are costing it in public faith. Even if the public were to vote for it, they would do so for it to be a disruptor; they would not vote for it to govern because they know that it is chaotic,” said Khumalo.

He added, “The people will still vote for the MKP in order to split the vote so that parties could go into coalitions because they simply cannot risk one-party dominance again, so the MKP will be able to fill that chaotic space.”

Political analyst Musa Xulu said: “The MK Party is increasingly becoming very chaotic in its approach to organisational management. It looks like there are no rules and procedures to determine how decisions are made. The internal chaos makes any form of imagining the MK Party in public power too ghastly to contemplate. Institutions run by them would be extremely unstable, chaotic, and managed through a revolving door policy, where Mayors, Premiers, MECs, and other officials in municipalities and provincial government would be removed at the stroke of the pen. The current apparent internal chaos goes back to when they were formed in December 2023,” he said.

Members of the party have said while things are not good now, they expect that matters could get worse leading up to the local government elections.

One member in the Midlands, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “On the Hlophe matter, we understand that he took that decision without consultation, so he caused conflict with the High Command. But this is really out of order in the party.

“In the Midlands, I believe there is going to be a serious conflict over the councillor list. I would be surprised if there is no bloodshed over that list because the tensions are very high; there are senior leaders who are now in factions as that list is being prepared. I don’t believe the party will be in the right frame of mind to launch an effective campaign come the next elections,” said the member.

The MKP had not responded to requests for comment by deadline.

THE MERCURY