JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) is facing mounting questions regarding its organizational cohesion following a fresh wave of leadership purges just weeks before the 2026 local government elections. With the expulsion of two additional Members of Parliament, the party’s internal dynamics are drawing intense scrutiny as it struggles to finalize its electoral […]
JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) is facing mounting questions regarding its organizational cohesion following a fresh wave of leadership purges just weeks before the 2026 local government elections. With the expulsion of two additional Members of Parliament, the party’s internal dynamics are drawing intense scrutiny as it struggles to finalize its electoral manifesto and unify its ground structures.
Days before the scheduled launch of its 2026 local election manifesto, the MKP expelled MPs Dr. Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala and Pumlani Kubukeli. This move adds to a growing list of high-profile departures over the party’s roughly 18-month existence. Since its founding, party leader Jacob Zuma has ousted his predecessor as deputy president Floyd Shivambu, former chief whip John Hlophe, his daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, two national spokespersons, a chief whip, and a treasurer-general.
Political analyst Hlumelo Xaba suggests these constant changes point to deep-seated divisions between the party’s rank-and-file members and its upper echelons. According to Xaba, certain individuals are leveraging their close proximity to Zuma to orchestrate these expulsions and sideline political rivals.
“There are those who know that they have quite a close proximity to the president and use that proximity to their advantage,” Xaba noted, adding that the party president appears somewhat vulnerable to the advice and influence of his inner circle, allowing opportunistic factions to put their opponents on the periphery.
The timing of these latest MKP leadership purges is particularly critical, arriving roughly 10 weeks before voters head to the polls. While the MKP successfully secured over two million votes in the 2024 elections—making it the dominant political force in KwaZulu-Natal—Xaba warns that ongoing instability threatens the party’s long-term sustainability. While the core support base in KZN may remain intact, the internal disorganization could severely hamper the MKP’s ability to expand its footprint in provinces where it previously underperformed, such as the Eastern Cape, Free State, and North West. Furthermore, with the election just two months away, the party has yet to release its manifesto, signaling a lack of coherent, ground-level organization.
The political analysis also extended to the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), which recently launched its own manifesto in Soweto with a heavy emphasis on land reform and local economies. While land redress remains central to the PAC’s founding ideology, Xaba pointed out that the party is significantly out-organized by larger rivals like the MKP and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Currently holding only one seat in Parliament and a handful of municipal seats, the PAC lacks the national structural reach required to capitalize on its core messaging.
A major hurdle for the PAC, according to Xaba, is its participation in the Government of National Unity (GNU). The PAC holds the land reform and rural development portfolio within the coalition, which includes the Democratic Alliance (DA)—a party that fundamentally opposes radical land expropriation.
Xaba described this dynamic as highly contradictory, noting that it is difficult for the PAC to campaign on radical land redress at the ward level while serving as a junior partner in a coalition many view as neoliberal. Unlike the EFF, which can freely advocate for radical policies from the opposition benches, the PAC faces a tough battle explaining its compromised position to the electorate as it attempts to balance its historical ideology with its current governmental alliances.
