PHUMZA SOKANA | So axed MK Party MPs didn’t see it coming? It’s Zuma we’re talking about

The Nguni saying uzenzile akakhalelwa — loosely, “those who knowingly cause themselves tragedies should not expect sympathy from others” — keeps ringing in my head whenever I read about the ousted MK Party MPs.

How could anyone in the political sphere still believe in 2024 that former president Jacob Zuma would not throw them out like yesterday’s trash, without a care in the world, if that suits whatever reason he comes up with in his head? To him, it seems, the end always justifies the means.

Having been formed in December last year, the MK Party, which purports to be “a true liberation movement that stands for the people”, is still very new.

However, it has already had its fair share of controversies. These include the ousting of the organisation’s founder Jabulani Khumalo and his subsequent legal bid to have the IEC record him and not Zuma as its rightful leader before the May 29 elections, and the trademark battle against the ANC over its name and logo.

The group pointed their fingers at party chief whip Sihle Ngubane, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and Ndhlela, who they said were acting without consulting Zuma and the broader leadership. They said they were manipulating the party for personal gain. It is interesting that even in their disgruntlement, they, unsurprisingly, do not see the problem.

Zuma’s confusing insistence that he remained an ANC member despite being named leader of the new party, and the organisation’s unsettling appeal to contentious prominent figures including impeached judge John Hlophe, former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe, former Prasa CEO Lucky Montana and former Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama — all of whom have been implicated in the Zondo commission of inquiry or faced fraud and corruption charged relating to the state-owned enterprises — as well as political chameleon Mzwanele Manyi, to name a few.

Despite the party dismissing its own founder so soon after its formation, some expressed shock and disbelief when 18 MK Party MPs were expelled in August by the Zuma-led organisation, barely two months in the job. 

Ten of the 18 approached the Western Cape Hight Court to fight their removal and to stop parliament from filling their parliamentary seats pending the court process. They have since been replaced in parliament. They accused the party’s parliamentary leadership of fraud and failure to follow due processes in booting them out of Zuma’s party. Shocker!

“To date none of us has received any expulsion letters from the party or signed resignation letters from the party and [if] such documents exist, we believe they may have been forged,” said Thami Khuzwayo, one of the affected MPs, adding they had made significant personal sacrifices, including resigning from permanent employment based on expectations of serving a full five-year term in parliament.

Defending the party’s actions, spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said all internal party processes were followed and that the affected members were warned before they took oath of office in June that they would be removed. He said the members knew they would be replaced later, pending parliamentary procedures.

“The [MK] party’s IEC list was comprised by saboteurs who went on to populate the IEC system with their friends, family members and neighbours,” he said. In other interviews, he went on to mention rogue elements and infiltration, and for me, therein lies the problem — Zuma and those around him seem to always become victims of unproven sabotage, spying allegations, baseless conspiracies of plots against them and the never-ending threats to expose others that he never carries out.

Many of his political opponents have suffered the same fate as these MPs, owing to his unjustifiable fear of “plots”. Zuma is loyal to no-one.

Also curious is how, even to the expelled members, it is never Zuma’s fault even though he is the party’s leader. In a statement, the group pointed their fingers at party chief whip Sihle Ngubane, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and Ndhlela, who they said were acting without consulting Zuma and the broader leadership. They said they were manipulating the party for personal gain. It is interesting that even in their disgruntlement, they, unsurprisingly, do not see the problem.

For such a young organisation to be dealing with all this so soon can only mean they are either very unlucky or there is a lot of disorganisation and incompetence on their part.

If Zuma’s history is anything to go by, there is still more to come. Even on his last political mile, for Zuma, anyone can get it, to borrow from Gen Zers. Ask those who were victims of his midnight cabinet reshuffles throughout his tenure as the country’s president.

Even his estranged wife Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, who was once allegedly detained unlawfully by the State Security Agency after she was accused of poisoning him, has felt his wrath. The National Prosecuting Authority decided not to prosecute anyone for the alleged poisoning. This is the kind of leader these MPs chose to serve under.

Zuma’s announcement as party leader should have been sufficient ground for any self-respecting politician to cut their losses. Granted, information about when they joined the party is unknown — they couldn’t have joined before Zuma. However, on his arrival, ignoring his not-so-distant past of not having a problem dismissing people for no apparent reason and agreeing to serve under him is questionable.

They should have taken a leaf from the late Emeritus Bishop Desmond Tutu’s book when, in 2011, he famously said: “Hey Mr Zuma, you don’t represent me ...” They would have been spared the embarrassment of being chased out of parliament within two months of becoming MPs. Instead, just as his cult-like following refuses to question him, they chose to turn a blind eye and agreed to serve under him. 

So, seeing the dismissed MPs in court acting like they were completely blindsided by the antics of Nxamalala’s party, with all his political history, I ask: did they really think it could never happen to them? Why, in their right political minds, would they not run for the hills as soon as the possibility of working with him became a reality? Why are they now blaming others for their fate?

Anyone who still wants to be a doubting Thomas can continue celebrating moving up within the MK Party ranks (or anything under Zuma), but they must not expect our sympathy when Zuma’s sharp and merciless axe falls on them — and it most likely will.