MK Party axes Floyd Shivambu as SG over controversial visit with Prophet Shepherd Bushiri
Willem Phungula | Published 3 hours ago
The Jacob Zuma-led MK Party (MKP) has fired Floyd Shivambu from his Secretary-General position for an unsanctioned visit with controversial Malawian fugitive Prophet Shepherd Bushiri who fled South Africa in 2020.
Bushiri and his wife Mary fled the country in 2020 after being granted bail on charges including fraud and money laundering. A Malawian court recently granted South Africa's request to extradite the couple to face charges, including rape and fraud, and they have indicated their intention to appeal.
In a statement read by the party's national chairperson Nkosinathi Nhleko, the party said Shivambu's visit to Bushiri was not sanctioned by the party and violated its' constitution. The party also announced that Shivambu will be redeployed to parliament.
Jacob Zuma attended the press conference to announce Shivambu's axing on Tuesday in Durban and there were signs before the conference even started that Shivambu no longer part of the top leadership - he chose to sit closer to the media contingent and away from Zuma.
'On Monday, President Jacob Zuma met with the National Officials of uMkhonto weSizwe Party, to reflect on the state of the organisation. As part of the deliberations of the national officials, the matter pertaining to the recent trip undertaken by the Secretary General Floyd Shivambu to Malawi was reflected upon.
"After lengthy discussions and considerable inputs from the national officials, it was concluded that the actions by (Shivambu) were found to be against the spirit and the prescripts of the MK Party Constitution. Most specifically, Section 3 (j) under 'Offences', which stipulates the following: j) Undertaking international trips and participating in activities and programmes that are opposed to the agenda of the MK Party or an allied party,' Nhleko said, reading from the statement
In addition, the party said the visit came after the Republic of Malawi's Chief Resident Magistrate delivered a ruling that granted South Africa request for extradition.
'Based on the deliberations by the National Officials, it was reaffirmed that the trip was not an officially sanctioned programme of the organisation or the President, which therefore goes against the constitution of the party.
"Due to the serious nature of this matter and its implications for the party, its image, values and principles, The President and the n ational officials were left with no other option but to act swiftly in addressing this m atter,' Nhleko said.
Shivambu joined the MKP from the EFF in August last year and was immediately appointed as the national organiser, in November he was elevated to the position Secretary-General.
In response, Shivambu said he had accepted that he had been removed as Secretary-General, saying he regretted his decision to go to Malawi. He also thanked Zuma for entrusting him with high positions in the party.
Despite the party's citing of Shivambu's Malawi trip, dissenting voices within the party have also accused him giving senior positions to newcomers while overlooking founding members.
Shivambu last month said no party member had raised their unhappiness with him in formal meetings of the party and he would not entertain faceless voices on social media platforms.
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Mail & Guardian
14 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
‘Msholozi finally heard us': MK leaders welcome Shivambu's axing as secretary general
Former MK party secretary general Floyd Shivambu. (File photo) Senior officials in Although they expressed 'relief' that the party's leader, Zuma axed Shivambu as secretary general after he had travelled without sanction to Malawi in April to attend a church service led by self-proclaimed prophet On Monday Zuma said Shivambu's visit was inconsistent with the MK party's constitution. The trip, and Shivambu's insistence on defending how he made it while wearing MK colours, led to what insiders described as the boiling over of long-standing grievances against him. MK deputy chairperson Nkosinathi Nhleko told Monday's media briefing that the party had been 'left with no other option' but to remove Shivambu from his post. The redeployment comes as the party prepares to reshuffle its list of parliamentary candidates. Shivambu was not included on the MK list during May 2024 general elections, because he had been on the Economic Freedom Fighters' (EFF) list before defecting to the former. His name is expected to be included when the Electoral Commission of South Africa opens the first window for candidate list amendments from 6 to 12 June. 'We are happy Msholozi finally heard us,' said a senior MK leader in KwaZulu-Natal, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'This man was causing serious discord in the ranks. He came in as if he was going to fix the movement, but he created more problems than solutions.' Shivambu has accepted the move and expressed gratitude to Zuma, calling his role in the party 'an invaluable and humbling experience'. But his remained unapologetic about his Malawi trip, saying on the Newzroom Afrika channel: 'One thing I will never apologise for is going to see Prophet Shepherd Bushiri. When he said, 'Let's go to church,' I said, 'I'll go to church.'' The MK party source said branches had long raised concerns about Shivambu's leadership style, accusing him of sidelining long-time organisers, tightening access to Zuma and attempting to centralise control of party finances. Other insiders said his tenure had been marked by delays in convening the national high command and alienation of grassroots organisers. 'There was a growing feeling that he didn't come to build but to hijack. So when the Bushiri trip came to light, it gave the president the space to act. We see the redeployment as a way to remove him from the engine room without losing the value he still has in parliament,' said one. Shivambu's experience, including a decade in the National Assembly as the EFF's deputy president, is seen as an asset for a party seeking to assert itself as a serious opposition force after its surprise performance in the May 2024 elections. The MK party secured 58 seats nationally, displacing the EFF as the third-largest party. MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlhela said on Monday that Shivambu's Malawi trip was inconsistent with the party's policies, and 'the appropriate action was taken'. 'However, the national officials have resolved that his skills are best placed in parliament where he can help sharpen the MK party's opposition role,' Ndlhela added. But not all in the party are convinced that the move will resolve the deeper tensions his presence has created. Two MK high command members said Shivambu's strained relationship with Zuma's daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, and MK deputy president John Hlophe could make his integration into the caucus difficult. Duduzile, who played a central role in the party's digital mobilisation, has clashed with Shivambu over media strategy and his growing influence in the party's core decision-making circles. 'Dudu never trusted him, and neither did Hlophe. They tolerated him when he was in a position to help us build the ground campaign. But when he started isolating people and dictating terms, the red flags went up,' said one of the high command sources. Additional concerns have surfaced over a broader rift between founding members of the MK party and those who defected from the EFF alongside Shivambu. The high command members said his role also placed those he defected with in danger because of their loyalty to him, 'now that means they will be scrutinised as well. He should've been fired.' But some officials argue that Shivambu's visibility in parliament could benefit the MK party's image as it gears up to play a vocal role against the government of national unity. 'Zuma understands Shivambu is a polarising figure, but also a political weapon. Putting him in parliament keeps him visible but contained. The real question is whether the internal divisions he leaves behind will fester or fade,' political analyst Bheki Mngomezulu said. Shivambu did not respond to the Mail & Guardian' s efforts to get his comment.
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Jacob Zuma's Double-Edged Spear Thwarts Floyd Shivambu's Ambition
MKP President Jacob Zuma gives journalists the thumbs up at a media briefing held in Durban on June 4, 2025. The Party announced the removal of its Secretary-General Floyd Shivambu and his redeployment to the National Assembly as an ordinary MP. Image: Tumi Pakkies/Independent Media Zamikhaya Maseti The firing of Floyd Shivambu yesterday did not come as a surprise. In truth, Floyd penned his political obituary the day he walked into the MK Party and emerged as its General Secretary. That was not a promotion, it was a political coffin lined with velvet. But the real reckoning is still coming. The VBS scandal, so long buried under layers of delay, distraction, and legal gymnastics, will soon come to trial. And when it does, Jacob Zuma will do what he always does, drop the dead weight before it begins to stink. He will ask Floyd to step aside in the interest of the MK Party. That will be the final burial. Hamba Kahle Mkhonto, not with a song, but with a court docket. Floyd Shivambu's political execution was triggered by his clandestine trip to Malawi to attend a church service led by none other than Shepherd Bushiri a fugitive preacher facing serious allegations of rape, sexual exploitation, and financial fraud. That was too far even for Zuma's elastic ethics. Floyd Shivambu, the self-proclaimed Marxist sitting cross-legged in the sanctuary of a Pentecostal profiteer, clapping hands for a man accused of sodomising and brutalising young girls. This is not merely a lapse in judgment, it is a moral implosion. Those who read and understand the Marxist-Leninist Theory, not just name-drop, know that religion is not just 'the opium of the people.' It is the ideological glue of the very Bourgeois order Marxism exists to oppose. You cannot be a revolutionary on Monday and a prophet's disciple on Sunday. You cannot shout 'radical economic transformation' at Parliament and whisper 'Amen' at the altar of a millionaire scammer who preaches submission to the Capital, patriarchy, and magical thinking. Floyd failed the revolutionary morality test. His trip to Bushiri's church was not a mere detour. It was a confession, silent but deafening, that he had no centre. This is where Jacob Zuma, for all his faults, showed leadership and political decisiveness. Love him or hate him, and most people fall somewhere in between, he has demonstrated that, despite his numerous challenges and well-documented shortcomings, in the MK Party, his political outfit, he will not tolerate ideological bankruptcy or political dishonesty. By firing Floyd Shivambu, Zuma did what many South Africans expected the moment Shivambu returned from that ill-advised pilgrimage to Bushiri's church. It was not just poor judgment; it was a violation of public morality. And Zuma, sensing the national mood, played his move with chilling precision. One must admit, that Zuma is, without a doubt, a political chess master. He understands the terrain. He studies the map. He waits. And then he strikes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ He did not flinch at the first sound of public outrage. He did not rush to satisfy the noise of social media or the murmurs of political insiders. No. Zuma sat still. He waited for the moment when he, not the nation, was ready. Then he acted. And when he did, the message was clear: in the Kingdom of Nkandla, there is only one strategist, only one tactician, and only one general. He understands the art of war, and more importantly, the art of timing. Shivambu may have embarrassed the MK Party publicly, but Zuma buried him strategically. There is, however, a serious downside to Zuma's political strategy; he is wielding a double-edged spear. Yes, he is decisive. Yes, he reads the battlefield well. But the very authoritarianism that gives Zuma the upper hand in the short term may well lead to the MK Party's long-term implosion. Undoubtedly, many within the MK Party are now unsettled. Their futures hang in limbo. The spectre of arbitrary dismissal haunts even the loyalists. No one is safe not from embarrassment, not from demotion, not from the sudden twist of a knife dressed as a song. This is not leadership by consensus. It is Stalinism dressed in camouflage. And Stalinism, as history has shown us, always leads to demoralisation, disillusionment, and eventually, decay. The full swing of musical chairs, where today's hero is tomorrow's exile, will only erode talent and collapse morale. Let's not forget these are men and women with families, responsibilities, and dreams. The stress of living under constant political threat, especially in this suffocating economic climate, will eventually take its toll on them, individually and collectively. This tired line that 'political deployment is not employment' is outdated, exhausting, and frankly, dishonest. It fails to acknowledge that politicians are human beings too, with aspirations, commitments, and material needs. To pretend otherwise is to invite hypocrisy. Political deployment is labour, and those deployed are not pawns; they are professionals, cadres, and citizens. They deserve respect, not permanent precarity. It may appear, for now, that members of the MK Party are content with these purges. That they clap as Comrades are fired. But don't be fooled. That is fear, not approval. That is survivalism, not loyalty. Zuma's Stalinist approach is unsustainable and will inevitably face a serious internal ideological offensive, as there are tried and tested Communists within the MK Party. If they surrender their ideological discipline just to stay in Zuma's good graces, then they are betraying more than themselves. They are betraying the memory of the Communist International. They are betraying a generation. And if that is the path the MK Party takes, then history will not be kind. As I conclude, it is imperative to surface what might well be the most consequential development regarding the MK Party: it now finds itself, by sheer electoral outcome and political reconfiguration, as the Official Opposition Party. This status is not merely symbolic; it carries with it a constitutional weight and a historic responsibility. With the Democratic Alliance (DA) having opted to join the Government of National Unity (GNU), the DA has effectively vacated the oppositional bench it once occupied with forceful intensity. The MK Party, however, has not yet settled into this new role. It is not combative, nor intellectually coherent, in the manner the DA once was in opposition. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), with all their contradictions, are currently outpacing the MK Party in opposition performance.
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
Shepherd Bushiri's wife Mary appointed as Miss Malawi governance committee chair
Mary Bushiri, wife of fugitive prophet Shepherd Bushiri, has been appointed chairperson of the Miss Malawi governance committee. She's one of the people selected to help improve the organisation. 'The committee's role is to provide strategic guidance to the organising committee, ensuring the upholding of high standards and the national crown's reputation, the organisation said. 'Our vision is to position Miss Malawi as a global brand that is sustainable, showcases outstanding young women and fosters a lasting legacy.' The organisation described Mary as a 'respected woman of faith' who would bring her blend of spiritual guidance and professionalism as a chartered accountant to the committee. Mary has been embroiled in controversies in South Africa due to her husband's alleged wrongdoings. In 2020 the couple fled to Malawi after being granted bail on charges including fraud, money laundering, violating bail conditions and rape. In March, a Malawian court granted the South African authorities permission to extradite the Bushiris to South Africa. However, the couple has indicated their intention to appeal. While Mary's role is not clear in her husband's alleged wrongdoing, she has stood by him throughout the controversy. They have both denied any wrongdoing.
