MK party secretary general Floyd Shivambu. (Photo: Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images)
uMkhonto weSizwe secretary general Floyd Shivambu has warned the party’s members that the leadership will not tolerate factionalism, gatekeeping and indiscipline.
Shivambu spoke to journalists after accusations from some original members of the party that he had sidelined them, and about two weeks after MK leader Jacob Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla had to make a public apology after going on social media to hurl insults at him, accusing him of being “useless”.
“If there is one thing we are going to nip in the bud, it’s factionalism and gatekeeping. Those are the demons that we are not going to tolerate in uMkhonto weSizwe. We must deal with it without any fear or tip-toeing around anyone,” Shivambu said on Monday.
“If there is infights, factionalism and all of these things, we are going to have to discontinue that structure or isolate the people that are involved in factionalism.”
Some in MK have accused Shivambu of sidelining party members who helped build it from the ground, and instead gave key leadership positions to those who, like him, joined at a later stage after defecting from the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Earlier this month MK head of presidency Magasela Mzobe stressed that Jacob Zuma had no intention of removing Shivambu. His comments came after a letter from Mxolisi Mthethwa — an eMalahleni zone coordinator, from the abaQulusi sub-region, Zululand region — called for Shivambu to be removed from his post because of his “performance and behaviour”.
The letter, dated 8 February, was addressed to Sambudla-Zuma, who is said to be aligned to a faction that wants Shivambu axed.
According to a high-ranking MK official, tensions between father and daughter surfaced after Shivambu’s appointment, with the two clashing over how the party should be managed.
Shivambu said he had known that taking over as the party’s secretary general would not be an easy task and that he was not offended by his critics, nor did he hold grudges against anyone.
“There are people who we had differences with before but when they come to uMkhonto weSizwe we have to guide them objectively and fairly — that is what leadership responsibilities require of us. Some of us historically said a lot of things against president Zuma but he embraces us and even gives us very serious responsibilities,” he said.
Shivambu said the party would not represent Zuma well if those in leadership positions focused on insulting each other.
“Who would we be representing if we are leading uMkhonto weSizwe and we hold grudges and we want to fight people? Which organizations will we be leading if our character is to be insulting people and insulting back? Where have you seen President Zuma insulting anyone and denigrating?” he said.
MK party deputy secretary general Nombuso Mkhize told journalists that internal disciplinary processes were in progress regarding the Sambudla-Zuma matter.
In a bid to limit access to Zuma, the party announced that members were prohibited from seeking an audience with him unless they had written permission from the top leadership.
“All public representatives of the MK party are strictly forbidden from seeking direct meetings with the president before consultation with all the officials of the organisation, ie deputy president, secretary-general, national organiser, national chairperson, deputy national chairperson, and treasury-general.”
Shivambu said this was done by any self-respecting organisation.
“If there is an issue you want to raise before you reach the president, please raise that issue with the internal structures instead of taking a bus from Limpopo and going to KwaDakwa Dunuse [Zuma’s Nkandla home] to want to meet the president about an issue that if you were to raise within the leadership of the province, it could have been resolved,” he said.
He accused some party members of taking photographs with Zuma in Nkandla so that they could use them as leverage against other members.
“When they go back to the ground, they harass people and say I was with the president and the president said … that is what we are dealing with,” Shivambu said.
Shivambu also addressed media reports last week that former president Thabo Mbeki had accused Zuma — who was once his deputy — of being a spy for the apartheid government in an ANC national executive committee meeting. Mbeki allegedly questioned how Zuma was arrested during apartheid, alleging that he had been sent to Robben Island to spy on ANC leaders.
On Monday, Shivambu dismissed the alleged claims and accused Mbeki of being a gossiper.
“Someone was saying when President Zuma was 17, he was possibly a collaborator. These are satisfied collaborators who even when they were leading government, you could see by their direction, their association with the imperialist and colonialist ways that [they were] representing the interests of the establishment,” Shivambu said.
Mbeki has previously been critical of Zuma, who succeeded him as South Africa’s president. Last year, he called him a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who should take the blame for the country’s energy crisis.