The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has acknowledged that deepening internal divisions and factional battles in Mpumalanga have become so severe that they risk undermining the party’s future in one of its most important provinces ahead of next year’s local government elections.
Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday, MKP secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo said the party had been forced to intervene after determining that political tensions in the province had escalated to a level that could compromise the organisation’s ability to contest the elections effectively.
Nomvalo said the party’s leadership had identified Mpumalanga as a province requiring urgent attention following a series of consultative forums conducted across the country as part of broader organisational reforms.
“We made an observation about Mpumalanga in particular that the political dynamics are heated to an extent where they can compromise the livelihood of the party in Mpumalanga,” he said.
“We said comrades there alone and amongst themselves are not able to find solutions and therefore there must be a national intervention.”
The intervention comes against the backdrop of months of instability within the MKP’s Mpumalanga structures, where leadership disputes, court battles and factional infighting have repeatedly threatened to derail the party’s operations.
Although the party emerged as the second largest political force in Mpumalanga during the 2024 general elections, securing about 17% of the provincial vote, rapid growth has exposed deep organisational weaknesses and intensified competition for control of provincial structures.
At the centre of the turmoil was a bitter leadership battle between businesswoman Mary Phadi – who has now joined the ActionSA and former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
The conflict erupted after MKP president Jacob Zuma appointed Mkhwebane to replace Phadi as provincial convenor following allegations of financial mismanagement against her.
The move sparked a legal challenge, with Phadi successfully obtaining a court order overturning her removal.
The fallout led to the emergence of rival structures within the province, with both camps hosting competing party gatherings and effectively forcing members to choose sides.
The divisions have since spilled into the provincial legislature caucus, where internal disputes have continued to play out publicly.
In May, tensions resurfaced when members of the MKP caucus reportedly excluded Mkhwebane from a virtual strategic meeting following a dispute over an allegedly insulting voice note. National leadership subsequently condemned the move, describing it as an act of internal sabotage.
Nomvalo suggested the underlying problems in Mpumalanga extend beyond ordinary political disagreements.
“The political dynamics in Mpumalanga are not ideologically orientated,” he said.
“They are not about how should the party present itself in the public domain ideologically. They are about power struggles. They are about positions — that we want this one, we don’t want that one, we want that one, we don’t want this one.”
According to Nomvalo, this reality informed the party’s decision to reject quick fixes such as simply appointing a new leadership structure.
He said national leaders concluded that such an approach would fail to address the root causes of the instability.
“You can’t intervene in Mpumalanga by appointing a certain leadership. When you do that, you would have just scratched the surface. You would have not gotten to the deeper problem, to the deep-seated problem in that province.”
Instead, the party deployed senior national leaders to conduct a political assessment and develop recommendations aimed at restoring unity.
Nomvalo confirmed that MKP second deputy president Tony Yengeni was among the senior leaders sent to the province to assess the situation and report back to national officials.
The intervention ultimately resulted in national leadership assuming a greater role in directing political activities in the province while broader solutions are explored.
“We said we must not rush. We must allow time. We must give the organisation time to study the problems and establish an amicable response to the problems faced in Mpumalanga,” he said.
The secretary-general said the party’s immediate priority was ensuring that internal disputes do not undermine preparations for the upcoming local government elections.
He warned that prolonged factional battles could weaken campaigning efforts and damage morale among party members.
“The forecast now is the local government elections, so we don’t want people who have deviated from the core business of focusing on the work of campaigns for local government elections.”
“We don’t want comrades to go to elections or campaigns with low morale.”
Nomvalo described the intervention as a strategic political measure designed to stabilise the province in the short term while longer-term solutions are developed.
“This is a strategic political intervention which we think can save the organisation at the moment, not in the long run,” he said.
“In the long run, we are going to employ other strategies to intervene.”
He stressed that the party was determined to avoid outcomes that create winners and losers among competing factions, arguing that such an approach would only deepen divisions.
“We don’t want a situation of winners and losers because that situation will produce outcomes which are only desirable for factions, but not for the organisation.”
The party’s broader organisational reforms come as it continues to evolve from a movement largely driven by national leadership appointments into a more structured political organisation.
Nomvalo also revealed that the MKP plans to announce a new National Executive Committee before the end of June as part of ongoing internal reforms aimed at strengthening governance and clarifying decision-making processes.
