IT is disingenuous for president Zuma to have chosen the 16th of December and use the brand of uMkhonto we Sizwe to launch his diatribe and denunciation of the ANC.
This was said by Umkhonto We Sizwe Liberation War Veteran (MKLWV) following the shocking announcement made by former President Jacob Zuma over the weekend.
Zuma made a bold announcement on Saturday, 16 December that he we won't campaign or even vote for the governing party in the 2024 general elections.
He went as far as telling the nation that his vote will go to a newly formed party called Mkhonto We Sizwe and urged his followers to do the same.
This announcement rubbed a couple of organisations the wrong way and alliances linked to the ANC, including MKLWV, which distanced themselves from the MK party.
War Veteran national convenor Dan Hatto said 16 of December 2023 marked the 62nd anniversaries of the formation of the people’s army uMkhonto we Sizwe, popularly known as MK, whose glorious history heralded the dawn of the new South Africa.
“The glorious history of MK is a legacy of all South Africans, whose sons and daughters sacrificed themselves for the liberation of the country, including paying the greatest sacrifice of life. This history cannot and should not be usurped by an individual for selfish ends.
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“On the 16th of December 2023, former president JG Zuma addressed the nation at Ipelegeng Centre, Soweto in which he informed the nation about his political future. The timing was deliberately chosen to mislead and create confusion that what he said was under the auspices of Umkhonto we Sizwe,” he said.
Hotto said MKLWV would like to put the record straight and reassure the public and all former combatants of MK that Umkhonto we Sizwe is the military wing of the ANC, which was established when the ANC decided to embark on armed struggle against the apartheid regime.
“MKLWV would like to make it very clear that the so-called uMkhonto we Sizwe Party is not MK of OR Tambo. It's not the MK of Chris Hani. It does not by any stretch of the imagination represent the disciplined and dedicated cadres of the authentic Umkhonto we Sizwe.
“To add insult to injury, president Zuma goes on to quote the manifesto of Umkhonto we Sizwe completely out of context in order to authenticate the big lie that he is peddling,” he said.
He said Zuma knows that what he is doing is the height of dishonesty and extreme opportunism and to use this quote in reference to the ANC and the attitude of the people of South Africa towards the ANC.
“Zuma’s new party is trying to use MK’s rich legacy and heritage as a launch pad to gain traction during the forthcoming elections,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ANC in KZN is expected to brief the nation about their way forward following Zuma’s utterances.
ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said they wish to state categorically that recent developments may have created a perception in some quarters that there is a state of paralysis that will liquidate the ANC, its alliance partners and ultimately destroy the Mass democratic movement.
“It's important to say that such a perception has in the past been proven wrong,” he said.
