Months before the formation of what is now South Africa’s third-largest political party, uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK), there were discussions about smaller parties – such as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), African Transformation Movement (ATM), United Democratic Movement (UDM), and PAC – dissolving and uniting under the leadership of former president Jacob Zuma.
When the first meeting was called by Zuma in 2023, Dali Mpofu, who was still an EFF member, allegedly made a presentation in which he said the EFF must shut down.
“Dali made a presentation of a paper where he said the EFF must close down with the other parties and then form something under Zuma’s leadership,” EFF leader Julius Malema said during a podcast with the party’s national spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys on Thursday, 7 November 2024.
He said then EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu rejected the proposal.
“Floyd said, ‘No ways, it is not going to happen,’ ” said Malema, who added that Shivambu was “extremely shocked” when he returned from the meeting.
“He was shocked that Dali is not only proposing it, but he had written it down and has had time to think about it,” Malema said.
On Thursday, Mpofu announced he was leaving the EFF to join the MK party.
Speaking to Daily Maverick, Mpofu did not confirm nor deny the claim that he had called for the EFF to dissolve: “I don’t want to comment on that, and I didn’t hear [Malema] say that.”
In a nine-page statement released on Thursday evening, Mpofu confirmed that in the past year, he and Zuma held several “underground” meetings in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal with leaders from 10 political formations.
He said he was dedicated towards the unification of “all the progressive forces primarily found in the ANC, the EFF and now MK”.
“I can therefore reveal in public for the first time that in line with this long-held philosophy, in the last period of almost two years, I have been part of the conceptualisation, formation, announcement and protection, if not the very continued existence of Umkhonto Wesizwe,” Mpofu said.
Read more: Ex-EFF chair Dali Mpofu joins exodus to MK Party, which he ‘secretly’ set up with Zuma
Unity meetings
PAC stalwart and spokesperson Jacki Seroke confirmed the meeting had been called by Zuma and addressed by Mpofu.
“As the PAC, we attended the meeting as a courtesy, to talk about ways and means of working together post the elections, but they did not emphasise the establishment of a party or mechanisms to merge or unite.
“What the PAC was uncomfortable with was that they were merely complaining, lamenting and expressing displeasure with the ANC leadership, particularly [Cyril] Ramaphosa and so forth,” Seroke said.
For this reason, the PAC opted not to be a part of the pact.
“So we thought as the PAC we would never unite with an offshoot that is disgruntled because it is not based on policy that is very clear, but we listened to the proposals.”
During the podcast on Thursday, Malema said that a second meeting took place where ATM president Vuyo Zungula allegedly proposed that instead of joining forces with Zuma, the parties be collapsed or merged with the EFF as it was the only party with a national footprint and properly established with the political machinery.
“Zuma responded and said, ‘No, no, can you imagine old people voting for the EFF? These old people will never agree to vote for the EFF,’ ” Malema said.
Although the proposal would most likely have worked in Malema’s favour, he claimed to have rejected it.
“I still refused,” Malema said.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa, who attended the meeting, which he said was in September 2023, said Zuma was looking at the possibility of collapsing the existing political parties to form one strong alternative.
“But I stated clearly to him and those who were present that we have conference mandates as leaders, it cannot work… At that stage, Zuma had not yet told us that there was the MK party.”
Holomisa, however, disputed Malema’s claim that Zungula proposed an EFF merger.
“There was nowhere where Zungula said we must go to the EFF, a big no. We were talking broadly, and all of us agreed we cannot collapse our parties to form a new party because we were left with eight or nine months before the elections,” Holomisa said.
Daily Maverick was unable to reach Zungula for comment and his spokesperson, Zama Ntshona, said he hadn’t been at the meeting and could not comment before speaking to Zungula.
Read more: Zuma will continue to have unfettered control of MK, with no elective conference in sight
Malema’s Zuma meeting
Weeks after the EFF leader refused to buy into the idea of a merger, Mpofu personally tried to pursue Malema, but did not succeed, according to Malema.
“I told him that it is not going to happen. I don’t agree with that and there is no EFF that is going to close shop. In his skilful way, he said, ‘Okay, plus we are late now in the elections, maybe after the elections we can engage again.’ I said ok,” Malema said.
A defiant Zuma then allegedly called a physical meeting with Malema where he allegedly further tried to persuade him to buy into the plan. This was two to three weeks before the MK party was officially announced in December 2023.
“Fifteen minutes into the discussion, I interjected and I said, ‘No Baba,’ but I was thinking, ‘You endorse the EFF, and then after endorsing the EFF we will have a proper discussion because we are now late. We are just on the eve of the elections, then we can talk about the issues that you want us to take up in the immediate…’ ”
“[Zuma] said, ‘Well, it is too late because I am launching a party on the 16th of December. Hard luck but, let’s take up this discussion after this election,’ ” Malema recounted.
In his statement, Mpofu confirmed he facilitated one-on-one engagements between Zuma and Malema, Holomisa and Zungula.
“In each meeting, it was agreed firstly that the unity talks would be revived after the elections and that no unduly negative campaigning would be conducted by the participating organisations against each other.”,
MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhela told Daily Maverick several engagements with political parties had taken place before and after the elections. He was not available when contacted for further questions.
‘It is what it is’
The MK party contested its first general election on 29 May and won 15% of the national vote, making it the country’s third-largest political party, a position previously occupied by the EFF.
Malema said he had no regrets, despite losing some of the party’s highest-ranking members. Shivambu was among the first leaders to resign from the EFF and defect to the MK party.
He was followed by Mzwanele Manyi and Busisiwe Mkhwebane, with Mpofu being the latest to leave on Thursday.
Reacting to Mpofu’s departure, Malema said he was not taken aback as he had openly pushed Zuma’s agenda of a merger.
“This morning when I woke up to the news, I was like, it is what it is.
“We respect his decision and there’s nothing we can do about it. He has been there. I know of the work they have been doing. This has never been a shock to me. It was just about when it would happen, so it eventually happened and we are fine,” Malema said.
It was not immediately clear what role Mpofu would take in the party, but a senior MK party member said there were talks of him taking over as secretary-general after Sifiso Maseko resigned to return to his role at the Gauteng Department of Health, following the lifting of his suspension. DM