EFF President Julius Malema’s dictatorial style of leadership seems to have come back to haunt him after his second-in-command, Floyd Shivambu, quit the Red Berets to join the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) in an unprecedented move.
Shivambu made the revelations at an urgent and sombre press briefing at Winnie Madikizela-Mandela House in Johannesburg on Thursday after submitting his resignation letter to Malema, 11 years after forming the party with him.
On Monday, former EFF MP Mzwanele Manyi also left the party for the MKP, with rumours that others loyal to Shivambu would follow.
The Star can reveal that Shivambu’s resignation was fuelled by in-fighting with Malema over the party’s upcoming elective conference in December.
An EFF insider, who is a member of the party’s national executive committee, told The Star that Malema’s ambition to remain the president of the party in December, demoralised Shivambu, who had been eyeing the position.
The source said business people had shown interest in supporting Shivambu to dislodge Malema as president at the December conference. But the party’s number one found this out and reprimanded Shivambu.
The party slipped from third to fourth position in the May 29 elections, which saw the MKP become the official opposition after the DA teamed up with the ANC to form the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Shivambu’s future in the EFF was also marred by the VBS Mutual Bank scandal after he was implicated in Advocate Terry Motau;s “The Great Bank Heist” report that rocked the country in 2018.
Shivambu is accused of stealing about R10 million channelled from the bank through his brother Brian’s company bank account.
The bank’s former chairperson, Tshifhiwa Matodzi, hogged headlines recently after he wrote an affidavit implicating both Shivambu and Malema in the looting of the bank.
At the party’s 10th anniversary celebrations in July this year, Malema warned Shivambu that he had his eyes on him if he wanted to dislodge him.
The source added that Shivambu had tried to get Malema removed so that he could lead the party, and when that failed he jumped ship.
Speaking at the party’s press briefing on Thursday, Malema accepted the resignation.
“Painful as it is, we have to accept it. It came as a shock. Some leaders shed tears. We must accept,” he said.
He said Shivambu’s resignation had caused him the same pain that he had felt when he had lost his mother.
“I accept the decision of the deputy president who has voluntarily resigned his position and did not renew his membership… When he gave me the letter yesterday (Wednesday), I felt the same pain I felt when I received the news of the passing of my mother,” Malema said.
He warned that other EFF officials would follow Shivambu to join the MKP.
He said the EFF should pass this test or it would have to die.
Malema said he never heard about a contest between Shivambu and himself, and added that this was just a rumour.
The MKP confirmed that Shivambu and Manyi had joined the party.
The party said in a media statement that it welcomed the decision by these astute and experienced leaders, adding that it could not have come at a better time.
MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said “these progressive and politically experienced comrades” would further strengthen the agenda of the Progressive Caucus.
“Manyi and Shivambu will be deployed respectively, according to their strengths and expertise.
“As leadership, we ask that all members of MKP welcome these two progressive comrades as they begin to form part of driving the agenda of the revolution.
“We wish them well as they pick up the spear and continue the fight for the emancipation of the downtrodden and marginalised people in our country,” said Ndhlela.
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said people join political parties for a better value proposition. They ask themselves whether they can be used more effectively and be given better responsibilities to use their skills, knowledge and be valued.
He said they also look at the future prospects of the party, such as the fact that the MKP is growing.
“MKP has more advantages than EFF and is likely to draw more voters than them. It is possible that more disgruntled members of the GNU, which is led by the DA, will join MKP.
“Many ANC members will vote for MKP because the ANC is no longer a liberation party, or a party that carries aspirations of black people. It carries aspirations for capitalists,” said Seepe.
Professor Andre Duvenhage, speaking on national television, said it was not yet over for the EFF but the party would decline in support.
“It’s not the end of the EFF. but without any doubt there is a decline in the support base of the EFF… We have not only seen this in the 2024 elections but also in a lot of by-elections,” he said.
“This did not come as a surprise for Malema. There is a relatively long history dating a year or more. There is a history of conflict between the two (Malema and Shivambu) …
“There are also a number of other factors that have played a role in this regard. I believe the VBS Bank investigations implicating Shivambu also played a role within the EFF.
“When it comes to corruption and we look at the MKP, and the composition of the MKP is going to war about corruption and state capture… So I believe that a person like Shivambu is feeling more safe within that environment than within the EFF,” Duvenhage said.
The Star