Africa-Press – Eswatini. The soul of South Africa (SA) is presently up for grabs as the psychological war between the African National Congress (ANC) and the newly-formed Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) Party, which is being supported by former SA President Jacob Zuma, Umsholozi. The registration of MK was done through a little-known third party and finalised in November 2023. The irony in all this is that it was registered using the former ANC military wing’s name and logo.
To make the situation worse, it has been registered and accepted by the South African Electoral Commission after it did all its due diligence, including the publication of the government gazette as per the requirement by election laws. All this, Umsholozi managed to do under the nose of the ANC. He has since continued to mobilise traditional leaders, church leaders and other like-minded radical former ANC cadres. He is calling for a two-thirds majority victory that will force economic reforms.
December 16
With the assistance of Zuma, the MK Party was strategically launched on December 16, which is a very important day in the history of the ANC. December 16, 1961, is seen as the date of the formation of the original Umkhonto Wesizwe because Umkhonto performed its first acts of violent resistance on this date. Popularly called Dingaan’s Day and later renamed the Day of the Vow, December 16 is a date set to commemorate the Battle of Blood River, where, in 1838, the Boers defeated King Dingaan’s Zulu impis. In preparation MK had, night after night, prepared explosive chemicals. “It took 20 kilograms of Jack’s mixture,” recalled Ronnie Kasrils, “to make four bombs. We neatly wrapped each bomb in Christmas paper and delivered them at different combat units.”
By December 15, the MK soldiers were ready. They had their instructions from the national high command to attack the government offices and were reminded to avoid loss of life, reads the MK official website. The ANC had resolved to take up arms against the oppressive apartheid regime.
Political strategist Zuma
One of the top business strategists and multi-millionaire, Vusi Thembekwayo, recently said Zuma fascinates him in that he always seems to be five steps ahead of his enemies. Umsholozi’s knowledge of chess sharpened his thinking skills to the point that he is a formidable opponent. For example, by announcing that he would not vote for the ANC, he effectively took a huge chunk of the ANC voters who are presently suffering due to the load-shedding alone, let alone other reasons. He then offered them a new political home right inside the ANC, so to speak. They can sing the old struggle songs, keep their old colors and keep the ANC military wing logo. After all, most of the MK veterans are very unhappy. Julius Malema took the ANC youth wing with him and now Umsholozi is taking its military wing.
Remains member of ANC
Secondly, he then announced that he would remain an ANC member. This is forcing the ANC to decide (as in chess but not yet checkmate) to expel him or not. However, the ANC knows very well that his popularity will likely make them lose more voters. The other possibility is to use the courts to reinstate his many charges. But again, that could backfire badly, when we recall the July 2021 unrest which cost billions of Rands where shopping malls were set alight.
January 8 ANC celebration
The January 8 celebration was set to be held at Mbombela Stadium and again Umsholozi was a step ahead having visited Mpumalanga on Saturday, a week ahead of the ANC celebration, with much fanfare. His supporters came out in numbers and it has been alleged, through social media, that the MK Party has already reached three million registered members, which is highly unlikely. However, some have estimated the true figure to be more than 300 000, which would be very impressive given the fact that the party is very new.
We must note that the ‘Daily Maverick’ reported that the ANC’s card-carrying membership numbers dropped from 1.4 million to 600 000. We must always take information from such publications with a pinch of salt, especially given the fact that the EFF has reached one million membership, hence the ANC’s should be more. The reality is that the ANC got more than 10 million votes in the general elections, representing more than 57 per cent of voters. But again, the ANC’s financial problems, at Luthuli House, could support the drop in membership theory.
Radical economic transformation or not
The real issue is economic transformation. The Zuma years saw the greatest number of black African millionaires emerging through BEE empowerment programmes. This did not go down well with the white monopoly capitalists who found themselves forced to partner with Africans. The CR7 (President Cyril Ramaphosa) years have given them relief. Unfortunately, they do not wish the ANC well and their secret involvement in the Eskom debacle and their use of their media to manipulate the political and social landscape to their favor, continues.
The political drama that will start after the January 8 ANC celebration will have an effect on the Kingdom of Eswatini; the ANC is seemingly splitting into two. The western capitalist powers are holding onto President Ramaphosa and his CR7 and the global south and BRICS are holding onto Zuma with his MK Party.
The fight for the soul of the ANC is on and whatever happens from now on is only the beginning of greater pains to come. The CR7 team has serous financial power but the people on the ground are sick and tired of their living conditions. The Democratic Alliance leader recently said the Zuma years might have been wasted but at least State organs were functioning. Load-shedding has hit the economy and the ordinary person hard and South Africans regret that Zuma and his Russian nuclear power dream was stopped.
Source: times
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