SHIVAMBU EYES NEW POLITICAL MOVEMENT AFTER MK AXING

Thu 19 June 2025:

Ousted uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu plans to consult South Africans on forming a new political movement, following his removal from the party’s leadership

In a significant political shift, Floyd Shivambu, who was axed as the secretary-general of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party two weeks ago, has announced his intention to explore the formation of a new political movement. This comes after his controversial tenure and subsequent “redeployment” to an ordinary Member of Parliament role, a decision influenced by his unsanctioned visit to fugitive Malawian pastor Shepherd Bushiri.

At a press conference in Midrand, Johannesburg, on Thursday, Shivambu launched a scathing attack on the leadership surrounding former President Jacob Zuma, whom he still professes to “dearly and so deeply respect.” He claimed Zuma is encircled by “political scoundrels who opportunistically use his kindness – sometimes gullibility that comes with age – to write down fake intelligence reports to influence him towards wrong directions.” Shivambu alleged their motive is to “steal the money of uMkhonto weSizwe.”

Speaking to Salaamedia a day earlier, political analyst Sandile Swana described Shivambu’s situation starkly, stating he is in “the meat mincing machine of Jacob Zuma,” who, according to Swana, “wanted to finish the nonsense of this young man.”

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A New Political Horizon

Shivambu detailed his next steps, which involve a national consultation process. “We are going to be convening the process of consulting the people of South Africa on the formation of a political movement that will be a thorough representative of the people of South Africa and not a personal project,” he stated.

The consultation will seek to answer fundamental questions, including whether a new party is needed, what its core values should be, and how it would differentiate itself from existing political entities. Shivambu also highlighted the critical issue of funding, indicating it would be a key point of discussion.

His departure from the MK party leadership marks another turbulent chapter in his political career. He was the sixth person to hold the secretary-general post in the party’s 16-month existence.

Zuma himself commented on the high turnover in the party’s leadership, stating, “We’ve had seven secretary-generals because we’re not here to play games… We will fire anyone who does wrong in the MKP.” He suggested that former secretaries-general had engaged in “wrong things” but the party chose not to “embarrass and humiliate them publicly.”

Shivambu’s plan for a new political movement signals a potential return to his ideological roots, referencing a perspective he wrote in 2013 that formed part of the founding manifesto of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). He alluded to discontinuing his association with the EFF for reasons that, if made public, would cause “collateral damages to families.”