Former uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party secretary general Floyd Shivambu has lifted the lid on what he alleges is a systematic looting of the party’s funds, accusing party leader Jacob Zuma’s inner circle of siphoning R7-million a month from the party’s coffers.
Speaking to the media at the Mhulu Luxury Boutique Hotel in Midrand on Thursday, Shivambu claimed that the “political scoundrels” surrounding Zuma were abusing the former president’s “kindness and gullibility” to enrich themselves while the party languished in disarray.
Vehicle for self-enrichment
“We raised it internally. Stop what you are doing, because you’re going to get this party deregistered,” Shivambu said, adding that he was fired because “I stood in the way of people who saw the MK Party as a vehicle for self-enrichment”.
These explosive claims come on the heels of Shivambu’s demotion on June 3, when he was removed as secretary-general.
While the official reason given was his controversial Easter weekend visit to Malawian fugitive pastor Shepherd Bushiri, Shivambu told the media that this was merely a pretext for purging him from the party’s top ranks.
On Monday, Zuma called out party members for using the party to make money. This was after an internal uproar that Shivambu had been making money and had gone to meet Bushiri to get funds in the name of the party.
“This is not an organisation to make money; it is an organisation to liberate South Africa,” Zuma said.
Fake intelligence report
However, on Thursday, Shivambu said his removal was in fact based on a “bizarre and fake intelligence report”. The said report accused him of plotting to overthrow Zuma.
He claimed the document alleged he had been in contact with foreign actors to raise money for this purpose. Also that he possessed supernatural powers to “make people disappear”.
“I was accused of raising funds to remove president Zuma and of accumulating mystical abilities,” said Shivambu.
“There is nothing I do in private that I wouldn’t stand by in public.”
He said the report originated within the party’s National High Command. It also led to a quiet decision to also block his proposed redeployment to Parliament.
“A decision was taken, though not yet publicly communicated, that even this parliamentary thing must not happen,” he added.
Not leaving MK Party
Despite the public fallout, Shivambu pulled a page from Zuma’s book that he remains a committed member of the MKP.
“I have not resigned from uMkhonto weSizwe. I will never resign from uMkhonto weSizwe,” he said.
This is the same stunt Zuma pulled when he created the MKP in 2023, saying he was not leaving the ANC. He said he was but leaving the ANC of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Speculation about Shivambu’s political future intensified earlier this week after he called an unsanctioned press conference. This was a move that many interpreted as a break from Zuma’s political party.
But the former SG said his next steps are not about abandoning the MK party. It is about responding to what he sees as a vacuum of integrity and purpose in South African politics.
Shivambu announced the beginning of a national consultation process that could lead to the formation of a new political party. He was quick to clarify that he was not launching a party immediately. He was rather seeking broad input on whether one is necessary and what it should look like.
Consultations for new party
“We will be consulting all the traditional and church leaders, the wisdom of ordinary South Africans, including people like [entrepreneur] Michael Nkuna, [Orlando Pirates and PSL chairman] Irvin Khoza, and [Caf President] Patrice Motsepe,” said Shivambu.
“If the answer is yes, then what should be the values and distinctions of such a party?”
He said that any future political formation must not be based on tribalism, personality cults, or family interests.
“A political party must never be a personal project. It must never be a family or ethnic project. It should be a vehicle for collective service and democratic accountability,” he said.
He also pointed to one of the central dilemmas of modern party politics: funding.
“We have to talk about how such a party would be funded. We don’t want it to be a project of friends with deep pockets or foreign influence.”
He promised to announce a “leadership core” next week that would steer the consultation process.
Not going back to EFF, ANC
Shivambu ruled out any return to Julius Malema’s EFF, describing it as a “cult”.
“I learnt more as a member of uMkhonto weSizwe than I learnt as deputy president of the EFF,” he said.
He also dismissed the ruling African National Congress as a viable home. “The ANC is directionless and captured by white capital interests. No self-respecting person can rejoin either the ANC or EFF.”
