The firebrand leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) youth wing, Bonginkosi Khanyile, has been axed after being in the position for barely two months.
Sihle Ngubane, the MKP general secretary, broke the news that Khanyile had abruptly lost his position as national coordinator of the party’s youth formation.
In a letter dated April 9, Ngubane wrote: “Dear comrade Bonginkosi Education Khanyile, you’re hereby removed from the position of national coordinator at the uMkhonto WeSizwe Youth League. This removal is effective today.”
Staunch supporter of Jacob Zuma
Known for being a staunch supporter of former president Jacob Zuma, Khanyile has recently gained notoriety for switching political parties and joining the recently established MK Party, an ANC splinter group.
Without any delay, he began hurling insults at people he believed to be Zuma’s enemies. His main target, whom he refers to as a sellout, is President Cyril Ramaphosa.
At one stage, Khanyile charged that there would be no elections if Zuma was removed from the ballot.
“If they remove the MK Party and president Zuma from the ballot as the face of the campaign and take away our rights, there won’t be elections in South Africa,” he was quoted as saying recently.
In another tirade, Khanyile praised Zuma’s tenure as the country’s number one, saying he created tenderpreneurs and blessers.
Public outbursts
According to him, this phenomenon somehow reduced poverty because young women benefitted from having transactional relations with the cohort of tenderpreneurs and blessers.
He did not end there. He accused one of the party founders, Jabulani Khumalo, of wanting to contest Zuma, threatening that the youth wing would deal with “his unbecoming tendencies for challenging Zuma”.
Sunday World understands that senior leaders from the MK Party had revolted against the idea of roping in Khanyile as the youth leader because of his antics and outbursts.
“We kept quiet because we knew that he was close to the Zuma family. We did not want to create problems between us and the old man [Zuma],” said an insider who did not want to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
“But it later became clear that this man was costing us votes because of his recklessness when given a public platform.”
July 2021 unrest
Khanyile shot to prominence when he was one of the leaders of the #Fees Must Fall movement campaign, and he was later convicted for his role during the campus unrests across the country.
He was at it again during the deadly July 2021 unrest, which claimed more than 300 lives, with KwaZulu-Natal registering the highest casualties.
The former student leader was in front, beating the war drums with pro-Zuma messages, saying he should be defended at all costs.
At the time, the former head of state was facing imminent arrest for contempt of court following his refusal to give evidence at the commission probing allegations of state capture headed by now-Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
