MK Party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu has blamed President Cyril Ramaphosa for the recent deaths of South African soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“South Africa does not have a leader. We are undermined by villages and very small countries. Our soldiers are seen for nothing. That is why we lost soldiers in the eastern DRC, because we do not have leadership. We do not have a commander-in-chief of the armed forces in South Africa,” said Shivambu.
He was speaking to MK Party supporters gathered at Freedom Square on the sidelines of party leader Jacob Zuma’s corruption, fraud and racketeering trial in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
He said the last time the country had a commander-in-chief was when Zuma was at the helm.
He criticised government for sending soldiers to the DRC without arming them with proper ammunition and protection.
“They [government] send soldiers so that they get killed by small criminals. Such was not going to happen under Zuma because he was respected on the continent. President Zuma is still firm and sharp for what he stands for,” said Shivambu.
Shivambu said the alleged tampering of IEC national election results last year — a matter yet to be proved — was to counter Zuma’s progressive ideals.
He said the arms deal case involving Thales, which dates back more than 20 years, was also being used to persecute and criminalise the former president.
“The trial has not started. They are still trying to start a trial.”
He said Zuma's legal team had repeatedly tried to challenge the presence of prosecutor Billy Downer, who was tireless in investigating Zuma.
“There is a white guy here called Downer who has been chasing Zuma. He has spent his entire life chasing Zuma. He was involved in the investigation. He is still insisting on prosecuting a case he has investigated.”
“International law does not allow for you to be the investigators and still become the prosecutor. Our lawyers are saying, do not allow this guy to conduct a witch hunt against our president,” said Shivambu.
The former EFF MP, who joined Zuma's MK Party last year, called for calm amid simmering tensions over the provincial leadership structure.
“If you are fighting among each other and want to insult people you are fighting against Zuma. Let’s go home united. If someone comes here whispering something about a comrade Mtolo, you must say you are the problem because we have capable leadership here,” said Shivambu.
He said if tensions continue that would blemish the party’s gains in last year’s general elections.
He said they are yet to identify the party deployees ahead of next year’s local government elections.
“All of you here must start preparing yourself to take over municipalities. From 2026 we are going to be the government of KwaZulu-Natal in all municipalities. This will enable us to run a provincial agenda which is inspired by progressive ideals by Zuma,” said Shivambu.
He called on supporters to continue to throw their full weight behind Zuma.
“We must not be ashamed to be associated with uMkhonto we Sizwe. This is a revolutionary movement. What we are doing is revolutionary work which will be celebrated in the annals of history,” said Shivambu.
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