uMkhonto weSizwe Party
uMkhonto weSizwe Party 'Spear of the Nation' Party | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | MKP |
| President | Jacob Zuma |
| Governing body | National High Command |
| Spokesperson | Nhlamulo Ndhlela |
| Deputy President | John Hlophe and Tony Yengeni |
| Secretary General | Sibonelo Nomvalo |
| Deputy Secretary General | Nomsa Dlamini |
| National Treasurer | Nthathi Mthanti |
| National Chairperson | Nkosinathi Nhleko |
| Founded | 16 December 2023 |
| Registered | 7 September 2023 |
| Split from | African National Congress |
| Headquarters | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Economic: Left-wing to far-left (disputed) Social: Right-wing to far-right |
| National affiliation | Progressive Caucus |
| Colors | |
| Slogan | Gwaza Mkhonto Gwaza |
| National Assembly | 58 / 400 |
| National Council of Provinces | 9 / 90 |
| Pan-African Parliament | 1 / 5 (South African seats) |
| Provincial Legislatures | 58 / 487 |
| Website | |
| mkparty | |
^ A: uMkhonto weSizwe self-identifies as "left-wing", and several sources refer to the party as being left-wing populist or far-left. However, due to its social and cultural conservatism, especially regarding its nationalist, anti-foreigner and anti-LGBT rhetoric, it is instead placed by some as being part of the conservative-left or as being part of the right-wing to far-right. | |
uMkhonto weSizwe Party (Zulu for 'Spear of the Nation' Party'), abbreviated as MKP, and often referred to as the MK Party, is a South African populist political party founded in December 2023. The party is named after uMkhonto weSizwe (shortened to MK), the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) which was active during the apartheid regime in South Africa and disbanded after Nelson Mandela's release in the early 1990s. The ANC has threatened legal action over the usage of the name, and the formation has been criticised by original MK veterans.
The party rose to prominence in December 2023, when former president Jacob Zuma announced that, while planning to remain a lifelong member of the ANC, he would not be campaigning for the ANC in the 2024 South African general election, and would instead be voting for MK. He stated that "I cannot and will not" campaign for the ANC of current president Cyril Ramaphosa, Zuma's successor, and that to do so would be a "betrayal".
On 21 May 2024, a week before the 2024 general election, the Constitutional Court ruled that party leader Jacob Zuma was ineligible to serve in Parliament as his fifteen-month prison sentence for contempt of court disqualified him. Although his image would remain on ballot papers, alongside his party's logo, Zuma's name would be removed from MK's list of parliamentary candidates. In July 2024, Jacob Zuma was expelled from the African National Congress (ANC) because of campaigning for a rival party (MK party) in the 29 May general election.