‘He is my brother’: Shivambu affirms bond with Ndlozi despite party switch

Newly appointed secretary-general of the MK Party (MKP) Floyd Shivambu has reaffirmed his strong bond with Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, his former EFF colleague.

Despite leaving the EFF to join Jacob Zuma's MKP, Shivambu emphasised his relationship with Ndlozi remains unchanged, describing him as “a brother”.

“He is my brother in the true sense of brotherhood,” he said in an interview with SABC.

“My relationship with Mbuyiseni is not a political relationship, it's a brotherhood that has existed for more than 20 years. He is not yet 40, and I am 41 years old. If we have had this relationship for 20 years, it is a very trusting one.”

Shivambu acknowledged Ndlozi maintains his own political views, recalling instances during election campaigns when Ndlozi publicly criticised Zuma's presidency.

“He’s my brother, but he holds his own political views regarding how we should handle some issues, and they are his own views. He has his own independent perspectives on how he articulates his positions. I will never claim ownership of his ideological direction or politics, but we have worked together for the longest time. We disagree on some tactical issues, but ideologically we are almost always aligned in terms of what needs to be done.”

The EFF has recently experienced high-profile departures, including Dali Mpofu, Mzwanele Manyi and Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Shivambu clarified they were not poached by the MKP but joined voluntarily. He said he won't attempt to recruit Ndlozi.

“I'm not in the process of recruiting leaders from other political parties, but if they come, we're going to welcome them and encourage them to participate much more meaningfully in the politics of MK.

“If leaders from different political parties want to play that role in MK, we encourage them to come and do so. However, we are not in the process of poaching leaders to leave their organisations by promising them better positions"

TimesLIVE