MK founder calls on IEC to ‘urgently remove’ Zuma from candidate list

uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party founder Jabulani Khumalo has called on the South African Electoral Commission (IEC) to remove former president Jacob Zuma as the face of the party and from its list of parliamentary candidates.

Read more at Daily Maverick: Elections 2024 – All your questions answered

In a letter dated May 5, Khumalo requested that the IEC urgently remove Zuma’s name as the “face” of the MK party, and that he also be “immediately removed” as party president.

“He (Zuma) occupies both positions through fraudulent and illegal maneuvers,” Khumalo wrote.

He also wrote to Zuma, in a letter also dated May 5, telling him that he had been placed on “precautionary suspension” for allegedly committing “several acts of misconduct in relation to the activities” of the MK party.

“These have brought the party into disrepute and caused confusion among the general public and MKP members. Specifically, you have sought to suspend me as party president without following the procedures prescribed by the party constitution,” Khumalo wrote.

He added that Zuma had been provisionally suspended pending disciplinary proceedings against him in accordance with the MK party’s constitution.

Khumalo, who registered the MK party in the IEC in September 2023, he was expelled from the party on April 26, along with four other party leaders. The purge exposed instability in the fledgling party, at a time when polls showed his support was growing; Ipsos predicted that MK could receive 8.4% of the votes on May 29.

Read more at Daily Maverick: Elections 2024

in a statement Announcing the expulsion of the leaders, MK said that a meeting of the National Leadership Nucleus had revealed that the party had been infiltrated by external forces seeking to “destabilize” it.

The party was silent on the reasons for the purge, but stated that it was in the interests of “patriotic South Africans who want to see change.”

Former president Jacob Zuma, flanked by Jabulani Khumalo, speaks about his political future at a news conference in Orlando East, Soweto, on December 16, 2023. (Photo: Reuters /Shiraaz Mohamed)

In a statement issued shortly before 1pm on Tuesday, the IEC confirmed receipt of Khumalo’s letter. However, he said Zuma was the registered leader of the MK party as of April 10.

“The commission reiterates its position of not getting involved in the internal affairs of political parties. Furthermore, the commission only acts on instructions from the party’s registered leader. In the present case, Mr Jacob Zuma is the registered leader of the MK Party. This has been the case since April 10, 2024,” he said.

After the expulsion of the leaders, the sunday time reported on allegations that Khumalo had held secret meetings with the ANC behind Zuma’s back, and that He had been raising funds for the party, but those funds never reached his coffers.

Read more at Daily Maverick: MK party expulsions indicate deep instability and mistrust

Khumalo was second on the party’s list of candidates for the National Assembly, behind Zuma who was first on the list.

Khumalo’s move comes days before the Constitutional Court hears, on May 10, 2024, a appeal by the CEI against the decision of the Electoral Court to allow Zuma to run for the MK party. The IEC had initially banned Zuma from appearing on the ballot, considering that he was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court for refusing to appear before the State Capture Commission in 2021, but The Electoral Court revoked thisruling that he could run as a candidate.

Read more at Daily Maverick: The unstoppable impunities of being Jacob Zuma, with a lot of help from the ANC

On May 3, Zuma has given notice that he intends to file a counter-suit to the IEC case, seeking the recusal of six Constitutional Court judges who were involved in his contempt of court case.

The IEC, in court papers filed on Monday, said there is a “substantial risk of a disputed election result” in the election if Zuma is allowed to run. News 24 reported.

‘Zuma discredited MK’

In his letter to the IEC, Khumalo said he was responsible for the registration of the MK party, while Zuma simply proposed the name of the party and helped raise funds for its registration.

“At all times it was understood that Mr Zuma is not a member of the MKP, but would help him in the campaign. In fact, when he announced his decision to vote and campaign for MKP on December 16, 2023, he made it clear that he would remain a member of the ANC,” Khumalo said.

He said Zuma is not a member of the MK party’s executive committee.

On April 23, Khumalo said he had been called to a meeting with people who were not on the party’s national executive committee but were active in the MK party. According to Khumalo, at the meeting, Zuma announced that Khumalo had been removed as party president and would henceforth be president.

“During that meeting a fraudulent letter was prepared for transmission to the Electoral Commission announcing that I would no longer be on the candidate list and that Mr Zuma would be the face and president of the MKP.

“I sent a letter to the Electoral Commission, confirming that Mr Zuma would be the face of the party. At no point did I confirm that Mr Zuma would be the party president,” Khumalo wrote in the letter.

According to Khumalo, Zuma’s conduct has “discredited” the party. Zuma had “acted contrary to the terms of the party constitution” by seeking to remove Khumalo as party leader without following any procedure.

Khumalo also claimed that it had been “widely discussed” within the MK party that after the election “certain individuals, including an active member and leader of an opposition party” would take over as party president.

Khumalo’s letter to the IEC comes amid allegations of signature forgery by the MK party, revealed by City Press. last week. The police have said they are investigating allegations that the party forged thousands of signatures to register for the elections.

Daily Maverick contacted Khumalo for comment, but he declined to speak to the media and said he was not granting any interviews at this time.

Daily Maverick reached out to MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication. DM