Jacob Zuma's MK Party Expels 20 MPs Without Explanation

Former president Jacob Zuma's MK Party, also known as uMkhonto weSizwe, dismissed at least 20 Members of Parliament (MPs) without providing a clear reason.

National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza sent a letter to the MPs informing them that she had received a notice from the party's chief whip, Sihle Ngubane, stating that their membership had been ended and they were no longer allowed to serve in parliament.

The firing follows the party's recent decision to fire Arthur Zwane as its secretary-general for the second time. This comes less than a month after he was reinstated to the role. Zwane had been dismissed earlier along with Treasurer General Danisa Zulu.

Zwane replaced former secretary-general Sihle Ngubane, who was moved to Parliament. In a letter to Zwane, Zuma said he was being fired for misleading the party. However, the specifics of how Zwane misled the party are still unclear.

"I refer to the letter I wrote to you on June 28 in which I, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, as President of the uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) expressed my decision to you to relieve you from the position of Secretary General of the Party," the letter dated Aug. 3 mentioned, IOL reported.

It added, "I therefore reconfirm my earlier decision to you and thus expect you to cooperate fully with my decision and desist from continuing to serve in this capacity. Furthermore, owing to your conduct of misleading the party, I reserve the right to expel you from the Party with immediate effect."

Three weeks after being appointed as the party's secretary-general in June, Zwane resigned, saying he couldn't manage the workload and had other business interests. However, Zuma reportedly rejected his resignation.

Zwane stated in his letter, "In the last 2 weeks, I have realized that the volume of work in my office is huge and beyond my limits, especially because I have other competing business interests that I'm pursuing"

It was later revealed that Zwane resigned because he was expelled.

Last week, MK Party founder Jabulani Khumalo praised the African National Congress (ANC) for expelling former president Jacob Zuma and announced plans to return to the MK Party leadership.