Adding to the churn of officials in the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), the organisation welcomes a new financial officer: party president (and former South African president) Jacob Zuma.

This emerged earlier this month as Zuma declared a halt on all party spending and a freeze on all bank accounts, described in an internal party communiqué as a “temporary measure”. The document was signed by Zuma in his “capacity as president and accounting officer”.

The communiqué said that the move was intended to ensure proper financial governance.

It continued: “All financial institutions where the party maintains banking facilities are to recognise this temporary suspension of signing authority. Any transactions requiring authorised signatories shall be processed only once the new mandate has been communicated.”

The MKP has reportedly experienced severe financial difficulties, a matter disclosed by its former treasurer-general Mpiyakhe Limba; he was replaced in January by Brian Molefe, a former Eskom executive and a prominent figure in the Zuma-era “state capture” scandal. It is unclear what has become of Molefe in the party.

Changes and shuffles in its senior ranks have been a recurrent feature of the MKP. While it has succeeded in attracting some high-profile public figures, once appointed to positions, they are seldom able to retain them. Shortly after the start of the new Parliament in 2024, fifteen of its 58 MPs had their party memberships terminated. This made space for new recruits, such as former Economic Freedom Fighters deputy president Floyd Shivambu. He assumed the role of MKP secretary-general but remained in the position for fewer than seven months.

In June this year, Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla was expelled from the party.

The MKP’s constitution grants extensive powers to its president to appoint office-bearers, something of which Zuma has availed himself. Last week, he also indicated that he would personally be selecting senior candidates for the upcoming local elections. He has also previously ruled out holding internal party elections on the basis that they are vulnerable to monied interests and are therefore undemocratic.

The MKP achieved 14.6% of the vote in the 2024 election, with its support being particularly strong in KwaZulu-Natal, where it only narrowly failed to win a majority in the provincial legislature. It stands to perform well in this year’s local elections. However, the highly personalised nature of MKP raises questions about the party’s resilience and ability to endure beyond Zuma.

Ironically, Zuma has attempted to present the MKP not as a new political alternative, but as an authentic expression of the African National Congress (ANC) – he has said that it was intended as a vehicle to “reclaim” the ANC.