Afrika Mayibuye Movement leader Floyd Shivambu says fellow black political parties in South Africa are not enemies but a source of potential recruits.
Speaking at the Mayibuye National Core Team meeting at Mhulu Luxury Boutique Hotel in Midrand on Thursday, Shivambu warned against labelling rival black parties as enemies, saying that such stance has led to deadly consequences in the past.
“The only thing you do to enemy forces is to eliminate, and that is not our intention. If anything, we want to win them over to our direction of how we interpret revolutionary struggles and how the future must be handled.
“That is exactly what we are going to do. So part of the people we are going to win over are those that associate with those parties,” said Shivambu.
He said instead of fighting the ANC, MK Party, and the EFF, the movement aims to draw their supporters and leaders into its own vision for the future.
Mistake made by ANC in 1994
“Now, comrades, this is very important to understand. In the transition period, particularly from 1990 to 1994, despite the mischaracterisation of traditional leaders of collaborators of apartheid, the ANC had also characterised black political parties as enemy forces,” Shivambu said.
“What did that lead to? It led to massive black-on-black violence. They say South Africa experienced a peaceful transition. It did not, because more than 20, 000 black lives were lost due to pollical violence during that time,” said Shivambu.
He said there were also outside forces involved in the violence. But he emphasised that mischaracterising political rivals was a mistake.
That outlook, he said, shapes how Mayibuye will treat the ANC and other parties.
“Despite a failure and the directionlessness, despite the massive weaknesses and hopelessness of the ANC, we can’t and we should not characterise it as an enemy force. The same with MK [Party], EFF,” said Shivambu.
Factionalism
Shivambu also warned that Mayibuye will not base its politics on suspicion and factionalism on the ground. He said he has noticed from other parties that members would be judged for their social ties with rival party figures.
Party members raise flags when one of them resides in the same neighbourhood as another person from a rival party. Or caution when they render support for funerals.
“That is not going to be our politics. It must never be the politics of Afrika Mayibuye Movement. And that is what we must appreciate. If anything, we exist to win over. Because anyway, these organisations are going to disappear naturally,” Shivambu said.
Speaking on the future of the ANC, he said: “The ANC is going. Even if we are there or not, the ANC is gone. The less said about the others the better. Because we don’t want to talk about it.”
