uMkhonto weSizwe Party condemns Thabo Mbeki's remarks against Jacob Zuma

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) has issued a robust denunciation of former President Thabo Mbeki following his controversial statements that allegedly undermine the legitimacy of the party and its leader, Jacob Zuma.

In a statement released on Sunday, MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela accused Mbeki of deploying a politically reckless narrative that paints the MK Party as an invention of “counter-revolutionary forces” connected to apartheid-era security structures.

Ndhlela contended that Mbeki’s assertions lack substantive evidence and are to be viewed as an ideological defence mechanism that seeks to distract from the reality that a significant number of South Africans are withdrawing their support from the African National Congress (ANC) and realigning with the MK Party. “This narrative is not supported by evidence,” Ndhlela stated, adding that such remarks dangerously misrepresent a specific language and cultural community.

The fallout from Mbeki's statements came amid his criticism of Zuma during a speech at the Umkhonto WeSizwe Veterans' League, where he accused the former president and the MK Party of being aberrations that have contributed to the ANC’s waning influence in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

“We have these election results in 2024, and a new organisation called the MK Party, which suddenly gets huge support in KZN," Mbeki noted, reflecting on the ANC’s decline to 40% support.

Furthermore, Mbeki insinuated that Zuma orchestrated chaos during the unrests of July 2021 to test his political influence. “It was the aggravation of that national security management system which produced that result because that machinery had never been dismantled,” Mbeki claimed, drawing a link to the historical political tensions in KZN, particularly within the context of hostel dwellers who have now allegedly shifted their allegiance from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) to the MK Party.

Mbeki asserted that these events are indicative of counter-revolutionary tactics aimed at destabilising the country and manipulating public sentiment. “What happened is that the counter-revolutionary decided to test its strength in order to see if it could destabilise the country,” he described, accusing Zuma of employing 'thugs' to create disorder with the intention of causing maximum harm to black South Africans.