‘Majority of EFF leaders knew I was leaving the party to join MKP’: Floyd Shivambu

MK party national organiser Floyd Shivambu said most leaders in his former political home, the EFF, knew he was leaving the party.

“Some of the comrades said they were shocked I went to uMkhonto weSizwe Party, [the] majority of leaders in the EFF knew I was joining uMkhonto weSizwe Party. Some came to beg me, asking that I shouldn't tell the president (Julius Malema) that they knew throughout that I was leaving the party,” he said.

Shivambu was speaking on Sizwe Mpofu-Welsh's podcast SMWX about why leaving the EFF was a good political decision for him. 

“The most correct, sound and best decision was to make the decision to join the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and contribute to its politics. I'm convinced this is the correct path and decision in the history of politics,” Shivambu said.

Shivambu's August 15 departure from the EFF shook the country's political landscape, with many predicting that signalled the imminent death of the EFF.

He also revealed that as he was consulting with other EFF members about his decision to quit the red berets, some members suggested a mass departure from the EFF. Shivambu said he was against that as he didn't want to be viewed as the one instigating a mass exodus from the EFF.

“There are those who said, 'let's go all of us, if you are going'. I told them, 'I don't think that is a wise decision. If you decide to join uMkhonto weSizwe Party, it must not appear as though I was responsible for the mass exodus of the EFF. I join the MKP in my individual capacity and so should everyone else.'

“Joining a political party as a group is not sustainable, it is not disciplined, it's not a proper organisational and political culture.”

Asked if he expected more people to join the MK party, he responded: “I don't expect more to join. In the organisation we have a saying: ‘asibabizi bayazizela’ [we don't call them, they come on their own accord]. Logically, It would make sense for those who want to pursue real revolutionary politics to associate with MKP, as it is an organic formation that is fighting for total decolonisation.”

The EFF was dealt another blow when EFF MP and former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane announced she was leaving the party to join the MK party. 

Mkhwebane and ANC veteran Willies Mchunu were unveiled as new members of former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party and will immediately take up the reins as KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga conveners respectively. 

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