On 16 December, South Africa’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party marks its first year of existence. Since its formation, the new political force has been riding high, attracting many bigwigs from other political parties, including the ruling African Nation Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
The cherry on top of the party’s political cake so far has been winning nearly 15% of the vote in May’s general elections, effectively dislodging the EFF as the country’s third-largest political party.
However, despite its rapid growth, many people in South Africa and beyond are still unaware of the party’s ideological positions on several local and international issues. It is mostly known as the party of former president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma. For this reason, the party’s Secretary-General, Floyd Shivambu, appeared on the Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh Xperience (SMWX) podcast to explain what the MK stands for.
One of the topics that Shivambu (who, until recently, was the deputy leader of the EFF) touched on was how his party intends to unite all progressive forces in the country – to decolonise South Africa’s economic and social structures totally.
Shivambu lamented that, decades after the fall of apartheid, Black South Africans largely remain on the fringes of the economy.
Credit: @SMWX (YouTube)
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/03/world/africa/south-africa-jacob-zuma.html
https://x.com/MkhontoweSizwex/status/1863106321329033463
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/2/south-africa-elections-results-what-happens-next