Thuthukile Zuma distances herself from MK Party, reaffirms loyalty to ANC
In a move that highlights the ongoing political divisions within the Zuma family, Thuthukile Zuma, the daughter of MK Party president Jacob Zuma, has publicly criticised her father’s political organisation.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Sunday World Engage podcast, Thuthukile criticised the MK Party — which her father now leads — for lacking a clear direction. The party was formed in 2023 after Zuma’s departure from what he called “the ANC of President Cyril Ramaphosa”.
“I am not sure what their policies are. I’m not sure what their ideological inclination and leanings are. I’m not entirely sure what it is that they are offering to the electorate in terms of where they want to take South Africa,” she said, stressing that her family ties should not be used to question her political loyalty.
Rumours that she is a sleeper agent for the MK Party, she said, were unfounded. Instead, she underscored her belief that the ANC remains the only political vehicle capable of advancing black unity, despite the MK Party and the EFF frequently raising the same call.
“I’m simply making the point that if really people were committed to black unity, we probably wouldn’t be in a GNU with the DA and all the challenges that we face, but that blame is placed on the ANC, and I’m saying it’s misplaced,” she explained.
She accused both the MK Party and the EFF of abandoning meaningful dialogue on unity. “Now I was just making an observation, these proponents of black unity (MKP and EFF) can come to the table and have a serious discussion about black unity but badla phansi (they run away). And that’s a fact, and I think it’s just something that I thought it was quite interesting. Every time you know, they drum it up, ‘black unity, black unity’. When it’s time to walk the talk, abatholakali (they are nowhere to be found).”
The daughter of Zuma’s former wife, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Thuthukile also weighed in on Johannesburg’s governance challenges. She acknowledged the ANC’s imperfections but argued that many of the city’s current problems stem from the period of DA-led coalitions.
According to her, service delivery collapsed under these coalitions. “Just in recent history, between 2011 and 2016, when the ANC’s Parks Tau was the mayor, Joburg did not have the crisis of dysfunctional streetlights, the non-functional traffic lights and rampant potholes it now has. These anomalies, she insists, found footing under the DA-led coalition.”
Pressed on what the ANC is doing now, Thuthukile said the party had inherited “a collapsed municipality” from the DA and ActionSA coalition and was working under difficult coalition arrangements that restricted decisive governance.
“If you think about Comrade Parks Tau and those who came before him, you never really had these glaring service delivery failures. You never really had a city that was in the red and completely bankrupt. Of course, it was a government. So, you had weaknesses, you had challenges, but never glaring failures. And the problem started when the ANC was unable to garner the 50% plus 1 [majority], and at that time, the ANC lost elections and went to the opposition benches. And the DA led a coalition, later Action SA, and that’s where the problems really started.”
She continued: “So, you would know, even in our (the outgoing ANC regional executive committee) tenure, when we came in, we were in the opposition benches, and one of the regional congress resolutions where I was elected was that we would then get the city back, because we understand that governance is an important part to which we can service our people and change people’s lives for the better. So, on that front, I think we’ve done well in that we’ve achieved that congress’ resolution.”
However, she admitted the ANC-led coalition, which now includes the EFF and Patriotic Alliance, was not able to act freely. “So you can make decisions, you can try to implement those decisions the best way you can, but it’s so different when you don’t command the authority and the power to take and implement decisions the way that the ANC knows how to.
“You have to consult many different stakeholders and political parties with who you are not necessarily aligned ideologically, in terms of how they see the city and where they want to take it. So, it becomes a very, very difficult road to navigate. And you must take this ship, and you must turn it around, but you turn it around with different coalition parties, and every time you want to take the smallest of decisions, you must consult. It must be taken to a political management committee. It just makes decision-making and implementation of the work so difficult, notwithstanding what I think, we have to introspect as well as the ANC, and say what our part is and all of that.”
Despite these challenges, Thuthukile said she was encouraged by recent ANC by-election results, which she believed showed that people still had confidence in the party.
“We’ve been doing quite well with by-elections, which shows that the people themselves still crave the leadership of the ANC; when they see these glaring service delivery failures, they still have confidence that the ANC is the one that can turn the ship around.
“This is why we have to work hard in next year’s local government elections to make sure that the ANC can garner more support, so that it’s easier to govern, govern with the necessary authority needed to turn the ship around.”
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