56 days before voters go to the polls, uMkhonto weSizwe Party led by former president Jacob Zuma is tearing itself apart from the inside -with senior insiders blaming a president surrounded by “bad advisors desperate to show power”.
In just six weeks, Zuma has disbanded his powerful 11-member Presidential Task Team for a second time, sacked his eThekwini mayoral candidate 12 days into the job, and left the party with no representatives at the IEC — all as allegations of rigged councillor lists blow up.
The official line from the MK Party is that it is a cleaning house to protect its integrity.
The real story, according to senior insiders who spoke to Africa Daily on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, is of a party gripped by paranoia, bad advice and a president who has lost his grip.
Asked why there have been so many changes in such a short space of time, a senior official close to the leadership did not hold back.
“Zuma is surrounded by people who gave him bad advice, therefore sowing divisions within the party because these people wanted to show power,” the source said.
“This has been the order of the day since the party’s inception, and it has created a perception that the party is on rocky ground that is led by one person. There is a lot of disgruntlement among members.”
The official said the constant purges have left members questioning their future.
“Comrades are questioning their future within the party. There is also a lot of speculation that the president has lost his grip and wants to surround himself with people that he can trust,” he said.
On Wednesday, Zuma pulled the trigger again, scrapping the Presidential Task Team (PTT) he created in February to drive the party’s rapid growth, firing Zandile Hlophe-Mkhwanazi as eThekwini mayoral candidate, and axing Sibonelo Maphumulo from the party’s IEC liaison committee.
Both Hlophe-Mkhwanazi and Maphumulo were the party’s only two official contacts with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
Zuma has turned to his national chair, Apostle Mxolisi Phakathi, to lead the fight for eThekwini — the party’s biggest prize after its 45% landslide in KwaZulu-Natal in 2024.
The purge was triggered by angry scenes on Monday in Durban, where members picketed Zuma’s meeting with party leaders and accused top officials of hijacking the process — removing elected candidates and replacing them with their own preferred names on the final lists sent to the IEC.
Zuma ordered a probe, saying reports that “duly nominated and deserving candidates had been taken off the lists sent to the commission, with other names put in their place, struck at the integrity of the party and at the democratic will of its members.”
“There is no place for manipulation, political gatekeeping, or the abuse of organisational processes,” party spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu said in a statement.
“The party will leave no stone unturned in uncovering the truth.”
A second senior source in the higher echelons defended Zuma’s chopping and changing as growing pains of a new party.
“You must remember that we are fairly new when it comes to elections… It’s inevitable that we will chop and change as we see fit. It’s trial and error, really. There is absolutely no crisis in the party,” he said.
“The investigation will seek to establish the full facts and ensure that any persons found responsible for wrongdoing are held accountable in accordance with the organisation’s rules and procedures,” Mahlangu added.
He said Zuma applauded the efforts of their membership for exposing the concerns.
In February, Zuma launched the 11-member Presidential Task Team, including his son Duduzane Zuma and Sibonelo Maphumulo, to run party operations.
In July 2026, the former president dissolved the PTT and replaced it with a Strategic Presidential Team, calling it the highest decision-making structure.
Days later, in August, Zuma made another U-turn, scraped the Strategic Team, and reinstated the PTT under his direct authority.
On the day the nominations closed, Zuma unveiled mayoral candidates — Hlophe-Mkhwanazi for eThekwini, Bongani Baloyi for JohannesburgThulani Shongwe for Ekurhuleni.
On Monday, members picketed outside Zuma’s Durban meeting, demanding action over manipulated lists.
Zuma dissolved the PTT again on Wednesaday and fired Hlophe-Mkhwanazi after just 12 days and suspended both IEC reps while appointing Phakathi for eThekwini and ordered a forensic investigation.
