By Johnathan Paoli
Former uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) secretary-general Floyd Shivambu has announced plans to convene a national consultative conference to determine whether a new political party should be formed in South Africa.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Shivambu said process would involve a wide range of stakeholders, from traditional and religious leaders to community organisers and prominent South Africans, including figures like businessman Patrice Motsepe.
“We will consult the people of this country to ask a fundamental question: Is there a need for a new political party? And if so, what should it stand for, and how should it be structured? We will be going to all the people of all the regions of South Africa,” Shivambu said.
This comes in the wake of his dismissal earlier this month as secretary-general, a role he said he carried with “the utmost respect”, helping build the party’s structures and draft its constitution.
Though the MKP indicated a possible redeployment to Parliament, Shivambu rejected the silence surrounding his removal and broke ranks to explain the false nature of accusations of his intention to overthrow former president and party leader Jacob Zuma.
According to Shivambu, internal party reports falsely accused him of using “money and supernatural powers to make people disappear” and plotting a parliamentary takeover with funds from Stellenbosch.
“These accusations are superstitious and absurd. I reject them with contempt,” he said, offering to submit his phone and correspondence for public scrutiny.
Shivambu claimed these narratives were fueled by individuals close to Zuma whom he described as “political scoundrels” manipulating the former president’s trust to loot resources and derail the party’s future.
“Every treasurer-general who raised these concerns was removed. We are risking deregistration because of these actions,” he warned.
While affirming deep personal respect for Zuma, Shivambu was clear that he would not return to the ANC, which he accused of being “in collaboration with a white system”, nor to the EFF, which he labelled “a cult”.
“I’ve learned more in six months with the MKP than I did in 10 years with the EFF,” he said.
Rather than rush to establish a breakaway movement, Shivambu urged discipline and collective reflection.
“A party must never be founded by an individual. It must not be an intellectual project, or a tribal or ethnic one,” he said. “We must go to the people and ask for their wisdom.”
The upcoming consultative process will explore the viability, principles, and structure of a potential new party.
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