UMkhonto weSizwe veterans blast Jacob Zuma for supporting newly formed MK party
Zuma held a media briefing over the weekend, announcing he would cast his ballot for the newly registered Umkhonto we Sizwe, despite remaining a member of the ANC.
Former President Jacob Zuma addresses members of the media under the banner of new party uMkhontho We Sizwe on 16 December 2023. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - uMkhonto weSizwe liberation struggle veterans have distanced themselves from former president, Jacob Zuma, and his support for a newly formed political party with the same name.
Zuma snubbed the African National Congress (ANC) when he announced he would not be casting his vote for the governing party in next year's general elections.
He held a press briefing over the weekend, where he announced he would cast his ballot for the newly registered uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, despite remaining a member of the ANC.
READ: Zuma to stay an ANC member, but pledges to vote for MK in 2024 elections
Zuma, who was asked to resign as the county's president by the ANC as he faced public pressure to step down amid corruption allegations in 2018, said the organisation had lost its values.
uMkhonto weSizwe Liberation War Veterans’ national convenor, Dan Hato, launched a scathing attack on Zuma.
READ: Zuma voting for MK to revitalise the ANC from the outside
Hato said the former president’s association to uMkhonto weSizwe, the former armed wing of the ANC, was a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.
"MKLWV would like to make it very clear that the so-called uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party is not [the] MK of OR Tambo. It is not the MK of Chris Hani. It does not by any stretch of the imagination represent the disciplined and dedicated cadres of the authentic Umkhonto we Sizwe."
MKLWV has also criticised Zuma for making his announcement on the same day that the military arm marked its 62nd anniversary.