Former MK party secretary general Floyd Shivambu. (File photo)
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in KwaZulu-Natal are looking to use the factional battles in the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party to gain political ground ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
The EFF’s support in the province dropped to just above 2% in the 2024 general elections from nearly 10% in 2019, following the emergence of the MK party.
A senior EFF member in KwaZulu-Natal said the Red Berets are now looking to regain their base in the province.
This will apparently be done with the help of disgruntled MK members who have expressed unhappiness with the leadership style of secretary general Floyd Shivambu.
The growing tensions between Shivambu and key MK figures from opposition factions, including party leader Jacob Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, have exposed deep divisions on which Julius Malema’s organisation could capitalise, according to the senior EFF member.
Other sources said the EFF was watching the MK party’s “implosion”, particularly the tensions between Zuma-Sambudla and those aligned with other power blocs.
“It would not be politics if we did not see an opportunity to regain our people and show them that while we lost support last year, we are more stable than their lovely Zuma,” said another senior EFF member.
“People need stability, and if it means we need to attract MK members to gain the upper hand, then we will do it for our people because they deserve better.”
Another insider said the EFF sees an opportunity to do to the MK party what MK did to the EFF — lure away key party members.
“The MK took Floyd from us, and it hurt us badly; it would not be bad to have Duduzile in our camp. Zuma must feel the pain of losing a child, no matter how problematic to the enemy; but obviously, the commander-in-chief [Malema] needs to agree to this,” the insider said.
But another senior EFF leader cautioned that although recruitment efforts were ongoing, the party was also wary of internal destabilisation.
“We must be strategic about who we welcome because some individuals come with factional baggage,” they said.
Malema, meanwhile, has announced that the EFF wants nothing to do with the MK party.
“We even asked them not to come to funerals of EFF [members], we don’t want to see them. We have even stopped going to the [Soweto] derby because we don’t want to meet them by mistake,” Malema said earlier this month, referring to the much-hyped rivalry between Soweto football clubs Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
Shivambu, who held the position of deputy president in the EFF, defected from the party in August 2024, was initially appointed as the MK party’s national organiser and later parachuted into the secretary general position — a role often seen as the engine of any political party.
A senior MK party insider has described him as a leader who has maintained control over the party through a select inner circle that traces back to his time in the EFF. He has been accused of a marked decline in administrative discipline in the MK party.
Zuma’s decision to back Shivambu as internal rifts surface has been met with discontent from several quarters, including Zuma-Sambudla, who was previously regarded as his trusted confidante in the party, wielding significant influence over key decisions.
According to a high-ranking MK official, tensions between father and daughter have surfaced since Shivambu’s appointment, with the two clashing over how the party should be managed.
In an official letter addressed to Zuma-Sambudla on Sunday, Mxolisi Mthethwa, the party’s Zululand regional coordinator, criticised Shivambu’s conduct, arguing that he was unsuitable for his position. Mthethwa said Shivambu lacked leadership qualities, made poor decisions and abused his authority by failing to consult relevant stakeholders on constituency matters.
He called for urgent intervention, including a formal inquiry into Shivambu’s conduct, and recommended disciplinary measures that could extend to his removal from office if deemed necessary.
Despite Shivambu’s political experience and strategic skills, scepticism about his leadership persists in the party.
“People cast their votes for MK because of Jacob Zuma — his vision and how he connected with them. Many don’t believe Floyd can carry that vision forward,” one senior MK party official said.
The party is still without a treasurer general following the recent resignation of Thanti Mthanti.
According to a senior source in the MK party, Shivambu has taken control of financial resources, funnelling funds into his office while curtailing political activities and appointing his allies to key provincial positions.
Although the MK party secured more than four million votes in the May 2024 general elections, it has struggled with ongoing legal battles, poor by-election performances and frequent leadership changes.
The positions of secretary general and treasurer general have seen high turnover, with more than eight people occupying these jobs since the party was formed in December 2023.
But two senior MK members said these tensions are temporary and that the party remains focused on expanding its presence ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Earlier this week, Zuma-Sambudla publicly criticised Shivambu on social media platform X, calling him “useless” and telling him to “fuck off”.
Following this, she was instructed by her father in a public statement to apologise.
To retain her membership, Zuma imposed two conditions on his daughter: first, she had to apologise to both Shivambu and the party and, second, she needed to extend her apology to all party structures of which she is a part.
Although she complied with the second directive, she has yet to personally apologise to Shivambu.
Political analyst Tessa Dooms suggested that Zuma-Sambudla may have misjudged her influence in the party.
“The situation indicates that she might not have the level of support she assumed when she made those remarks,” Dooms said.
The party has warned that failure to meet all conditions could result in Zuma-Sambudla losing her membership.
High-ranking sources in MK said that a faction calling itself “December 16” — the date of the party’s launch — believes they are the “right and original people” who fought to establish the party and would continue to fight for their rights.
In the first of a series of posts on X insulting Shivambu, Sambudla-Zuma wrote: “Commanders Of December 16 2023, The Real CO-FOUNDERS Of MK… I Hear You, LOUD AND CLEAR !!! I Stand With You 100 Percent … I Will Not Forsake You !!! Submit OR Fight!!! We Choose To FIGHT!!!.”
Members of the December 16 faction, to which Sambudla-Zuma is sympathetic, believe they are being slowly pushed out of the party by Shivambu, and being sidelined and overlooked, according to the source.
The source, who is part of the December 16 grouping, said they also feel sidelined and overlooked. In addition, the faction believes the party is losing its identity and moving away from its original formation.
“There’s a big fight happening about the future of the organisation. This is about the future of the MK party and how people are starting to say the SG [Shivambu] is appointing people of the EFF,” the source said.
“They resign one day from the EFF, and they come to occupy leadership positions the very next day. The December 16 crew feels like the organisation is no longer what it was, and it is slowly becoming a replica of the EFF.”
The source said Shivambu is also not helping the situation in that he could have focused on bringing people with skills to the party and not only putting former EFF members or sympathisers in leadership positions. “It seems like he wants only EFF people.”
The Mail & Guardian tried to contact Sambudla-Zuma for comment, but she did not respond.
Mthethwa — an eMalahleni zone coordinator in the abaQulusi sub-region of the Zululand region — who sent the letter to Sambudla-Zuma calling for Shivambu’s removal from the position because of his “performance and behaviour”, said he would respond when the time came for him to speak to the media.
Another source said to their knowledge, Sambudla-Zuma’s behaviour had not been brought before the party’s disciplinary committee chairperson, Dali Mpofu, because she had apologised.
“She was allowed to apologise, so we can’t say where the matter is. It will also depend on whether the party accepts the apology and what other steps they want to take.”
Mpofu refused to comment on the matter.