By Simon Nare
Floyd Shivambu, the Secretary-General of the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, has been removed from his current position and reassigned to the National Assembly in a yet to be defined capacity.
Shivambu’s removal stems from his trip to Malawi, where he met self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri, an act the party said, during a press conference in Durban on Tuesday, violated its Constitution.
Shivambu, at the same press conference, accepted both his redeployment and the decision to remove him as party secretary-general.
He confirmed that senior party officials, led by former president Jacob Zuma, met with him on Monday, June 2, 2025, when the decision was made.
Shivambu expressed regret over his trip to Malawi, acknowledging it was inconsistent with the party’s Constitution.
He said he fully accepted the new responsibilities assigned to him and remained committed to building the organisation ahead of the 2026 local government elections and the goal of securing a two-thirds majority in the 2029 national elections
“We have been redeployed to the National Assembly. We will continue to play the role of advancing the agenda and program of MKP. It has been an invaluable role that we have played and humbling experience that we have been assigned by the president,” said Shivambu.
‘We want to thank him for leading the programme of unification of all the progressive forces in South Africa. That is the agenda that we are going to continue to pursue.”
Zuma was quick to point out that the removal of Shivambu must not be interpreted as though there was a big problem in the party because there was nothing of the sort.
The former president said the officials saw it fit to inform the nation and party’s rank and file about the action taken against Shivambu following the violation of the party’s Constitution by visiting Bushiri’s Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) Church in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Bushiri was declared a fugitive after he fled to Malawi in November 2020, shortly after being granted bail along with his wife.
He is facing charges including rape and fraud.
Zuma said the party had received several letters of complaint regarding Shivambu’s visit, but officials were initially too occupied to address the matter promptly.
He added that the party ultimately had to act out of respect for the electorate, as concerns over the visit continued to surface.
“We thought we should then have this to alert the country and tell them even those who have been saying what is this. Others were talking about how that person (Bushiri) in particular in that country what are the relations with people in the Middle East,” said Zuma.
“We have taken that decision and there is nothing wrong. We were just saying this is what it is supposed to be. We also had to look at what that has done to our rules. It is as simple as that. The only thing we were doing was to alert the country.”
Zuma said the chapter on the matter has been close and a decision has been taken and there was no problem in the party and the officials were not at liberty to discuss how they reached that conclusion.
Shivambu’s removal as party secretary-general followed public spats with party MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, who had repeatedly vowed on social media to see him removed from his position.
In the wake of the clashes, Zuma-Sambudla was instructed to apologise to Shivambu or face disciplinary action for her ‘unbecoming’ conduct.
In a press statement read by Chairman, Nathi Nhleko, the party said the officials reflected on Shivambu’s visit to Bushiri and the fact that South Africa’s legal bid to have him extradited to the country to answer to his charges, he was effectively a fugitive from justice.
Nhlako said the party had been approached by members of various sectors of civil society and had taken due consideration of the gravity of the matter
“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 National Officials were left with no other option but to act swiftly in addressing this matter,” said Nhleko.
The party did not announce Shivambu’s successor as Secretary-General.
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