'In the DA I lived with daily contradictions', says Bongani Baloyi
Despite serving in the DA for nearly 15 years, Bongani Baloyi, who has also been a member of ActionSA and Xiluva said he never supported the DA’s policy position, adding adding that South Africans should scrutinise the departure of black leaders from the DA.
Bongani Baloyi (centre) announced his decision to join former President Jacob Zuma's MK Party during a media briefing in Soweto, Johannesburg on 5 September 2024. Picture: Alpha Ramushwana/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - Former Midvaal mayor Bongani Baloyi has called on political parties to listen to former President Jacob Zuma’s appeal for black political parties to merge into a single organisation.
During a media briefing in Soweto on Thursday, Baloyi revealed his decision to join the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, abandoning the political organisation he founded just last year.
Over the past four years, Baloyi has been affiliated with four different political parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), ActionSA, Xiluva, and now the MK Party.
Baloyi paraded through the streets of Soweto clad in MK party regalia, even joining in the singing of struggle songs, including the popular "Wenzeni uZuma," (What has Zuma done?) which is frequently sung by the former president’s dedicated supporters.
[WATCH] Umkhonto WeSizwer party members in Soweto gathered to welcome former Midvaal mayor Bongani Baloyi to the party.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) September 5, 2024
Baloyi, who formed his Xikuva party last year, was previously a member of the DA and ActionSA. @Alpha_Mero25 pic.twitter.com/vjHJ0eQ8wj
He defended his decision to join the MK Party, saying there was no other organisation that truly advocates for oppressed black South Africans.
“We were told to consolidate with other parties that are funded by the Oppenheimers. We resisted pressure from many people, influences, journalists and political analysts that we must consolidate with parties funded by the Oppenheimers.”
He believes that the only way for the means of production and the economy to be controlled by black people is if the parties representing the black majority unite into a single entity.
Zuma, who was expelled from the African National Congress (ANC), has also argued that the division among black leaders will do the country no good.
DA’S ‘BLACK EXODUS’
Baloyi claimed none of his previous political homes effectively advocated for black South Africans.
He said he never supported the DA’s policy position, despite serving in the organisation for nearly 15 years, adding that South Africans should scrutinise the departure of black leaders from the DA, suggesting that many of them disagree with the party’s liberal approach.
“In the DA, I lived with daily contradictions. And these contradictions are the things that even now members of the DA live with. Liberalism will tell you that an individual becomes an individual by themselves. Ubuntu will tell you that you become an individual on the basis of your contributions to society.”
He said most black leaders in the DA are too afraid to express their true ideological views.
“Some don’t know how to verbalise it, it took me time to understand this thing because I didn’t understand why I felt some type of way about most things. The DA is about individualism... and you are coming from a community.”
The DA, however, has said it’s not a white political party but an organisation that appeals to all South Africans.