• KwaZulu-Natal residents who ditched the ANC for former president Jacob Zuma‘s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party say they were fed up with the ANC‘s broken promises.
• The MK Party is currently leading the polls in KwaZulu-Natal and is set to emerge as the majority party in the province after this year‘s elections.
• Track the latest results via our Elections Map.

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Fed up with broken promises and perceived self-serving agendas of long-standing political stalwarts, KwaZulu-Natal voters have spoken out on their support of the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.

At the heart of this seismic shift lies a deep-seated desire for change, as disillusionment with the incumbent leadership reached a tipping point. 

The MK Party’s triumph, particularly evident in strongholds which were once ANC and IFP bastions, signals a profound yearning for a break from the status quo.

“We have been voting for the ANC, but what have they done for us?” remarked one resident, echoing the sentiments of many who spoke to News24.

Residents believe the allure of new faces and promises of revitalisation have galvanised support for the MK Party, which now faces the weighty task of delivering on expectations.

At the KwaMashu hostel, previously an IFP stronghold, the MK Party appeared to sweep the floor, with many residents saying they believed this was the dawn of a new era. 

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One of the hostel dwellers said they decided to vote for the MK Party as they believed it was offering something new.

“People want change and want new faces. Yes Zuma is old, but he understands leadership and he is coming with new faces that we know are going to bring change.

“The MK Party has the easiest job ever because they must do what the ANC was not doing.

“That is to create jobs especially for youth and ensure infrastructure development for road, water, and housing, in many areas such as eThekwini and Pietermaritzburg,” said a resident. 

Another resident said he believed the death of the IFP’s founding leader, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, had an impact on the party’s poor performance in the province. 

Resident Vusumuzi Duma added he knew the IFP might not win nationally but was hopeful it would perform much better in the province. 

Duma said:

He added they were hopeful MK Party leaders would not neglect the hostel dwellers’ needs. 

A resident in the Amajuba District, Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, where the MK Party took 234 voting districts out of 246, said they had no sympathy for the ANC and IFP. 

Amajuba district is led by the IFP.

Busisiwe Makhoba said she did not vote for the MK Party because of Zuma, but because she wanted change which she believed the ANC and IFP had failed to bring about for years. 

“This goes to show that when you are taking people for granted, they will be patient until they get an opportunity to deal with you.

“If [the] MK [Party] was on my by-election ballot paper, I would have voted for them because we are honestly fed up with our current leaders.

“In the district, the IFP is not doing anything, and the ANC in the province think they run a spaza shop, so we showed them who we are as people.

“One thing about Amajuba is that we really struggle for water, and we have bad roads, so when the MK [Party] spoke that language, they spoke to me,” said Makhoba, who is a former IFP member.

READ | MK Party will not form a coalition with the ANC, says Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla

She added someone from the MK Party should be chosen as premier and not work with the ANC in running the province.

Nhlakanipho Dlamini, 45, from Tongaat, Durban, said he was excited at the prospect of a province run by the MK Party. 

Dlamini, who is originally from Nongoma, said he was never going to vote for either the ANC or IFP to lead the province as they had the opportunity to do so but it only benefitted themselves. 

“To me, continuing voting for IFP didn’t bring change. I mean they had their chance and didn’t do anything. Same goes with the ANC, they have arrogant leaders and think they are big.

“So, my vote is for change, and [the] MK [Party] is new. Yes, they don’t have any track record, but they have smart people.

“I mean we saw teachers, doctors, nurses, and youth marching for jobs and those are the areas [the] MK [Party] should focus on.

“This is a great time to be alive and I never thought I would live to see this day where the ANC is out of power in KwaZulu-Natal. In the next election, they will be out nationally,” said Dlamini.

However, Thubalethu Ndlovu from Hammarsdale, Durban, added he was disappointed about the MK Party’s lead.

Ndlovu said the decision by voters to opt for the party was due to anger against the ANC leadership in the province. 

“People are just tired and they are desperate for change. But I don’t think opting for [the] MK [Party] was the right move. 

“I mean the party in the last weeks had a lot of internal issues. Their issues show the party’s formation is based on a hunger for power. I don’t think they will bring much of a change in the province.

“What is good about them is that they disrupted the ANC KwaZulu-Natal leadership who were really showing signs of arrogance.

“It’s shocking because even people around me are happy that they voted for [the] MK [Party] and its leader, but they don’t know why they voted for it.

“The party doesn’t even have a KwaZulu-Natal premier candidate, and they are going to fight for that position as well,” said Ndlovu. 

Umlazi

News24 also travelled to the home of Zodwa Mhlongo-Maphumulo, 54, and her 55-year-old husband, Vulindlela Maphumulo, in Umlazi, eThekwini.

The couple was joined by neighbours Nomusa Msimango, 54, and Khanyisile Vezi, 55, in their cozy two-bedroom house in the working-class township.

All four are ardent Zuma supporters and among the thousands of Umlazi residents who voted for the MK Party in this year’s provincial and national government elections.

Mhlongo-Maphumulo said: “The ANC’s corruption is so relentless; they have no shame. They don’t even fear hiding it.”

She added another one of her grievances with the ANC was “the neglect of former MK combatants who returned from exile only to languish in poverty and despair.”

Mhlongo-Maphumulo said:

“We supported the ANC for many years, but there is nothing to show for it. Our children are tertiary educated but unemployed,” she said, clapping her hands.

Vulindlela claimed the ANC regime was oppressive and pointed out the two-pot retirement system as an example.

According to National Treasury, the two-pot system “is a reform that will allow retirement fund members to make partial withdrawals from their retirement funds before retirement, while preserving a portion that can only be accessed at retirement to help improve retirement outcomes”.

It is expected to come into effect in September this year.

Vulindlela said the reform was oppressive and had pushed many people to leave their jobs to access their retirement funds.

He claimed the MK Party would overturn the reform and establish a system where people could access their retirement funds in full without having to leave their jobs.

“We understand that it won’t be easy, but the MK Party will ensure that some laws are changed.”

Msimango and Vezi said their biggest gripe with the ANC was how it “treated” the Covid-19 pandemic.

WATCH | Jabulani Khumalo is still an MKP leader ‘in his dreams,’ says Zuma’s daughter

Msimango ranted on about unfounded conspiracy theories, referring to false rumours of a manufactured virus aimed at population control and the ANC somehow being party to this.

Her claim, however, cannot be backed by evidence as there is no proof that Covid-19 was man-made. 

According to the World Health Organisation, the origins of Covid-19 pointed to a “natural reservoir” in bats and then passed on to human beings.

Vezi said she was also concerned by “high taxes charged by the ANC government”.

“My husband is always complaining he is always left with little money on payday because of exorbitant taxes.”

Why not other parties?

All four said prior to the arrival of the MK Party, there was no clear alternative to the ANC.

Mhlongo-Maphumulo, Vezi and Msimango said they considered the EFF, but they added the party’s leader, Julius Malema, was rude.

“He has no respect for elders,” said Vezi.

Mhlongo-Maphumulo added: “We liked him, and we thought he had a good message, but his behaviour is worrisome.”

She said the DA was out of the question for them because they were worried it would somehow bring back apartheid, although the party has dismissed this claim multiple times.

On the IFP, Vulindlela said they would not vote for it because it previously governed KwaZulu-Natal and was removed due to poor governance.

“They were in power for two terms, in 1994 and 1999, but they failed to deliver and so they were voted out.

“Why should we give them another chance?” he asked rhetorically.  

The Umlazi residents said they were not concerned about Zuma’s corruption case and the scandals that formed part of his presidency, including the construction of his Nkandla homestead and relationship with the Gupta family.

“No one is innocent, they all have skeletons,” proclaimed Mhlongo-Maphumulo loudly.

The Umlazi residents admitted they were unclear on who would be representing the MK Party in provincial legislatures and National Assembly, but said they believed Zuma would ensure the right people were deployed to positions of power.

“We just love Zuma, and we trust him. He will know what to do,” added Msimango.

“If it was up to us, he would be in government for eternity,” said Vezi.