By Sihle Mavuso
There are growing signs that Jacob Zuma’s Umkhonto Wesizwe party is not as powerful as previously claimed.
Pre-election polls are suggesting the MK party could get 17% of the poll, which totals about four million votes.
But evidence of weaknesses in the way it organises its supporters was laid bare during a march through the Durban CBD on Tuesday.
The march that was supposed to draw thousands of supporters but ended up being a disjointed affair with some supporters going off to the beach halfway through.
This was in stark contrast to last weekend’s show at Orlando Stadium in Soweto where the party filled the 37,000-seater stadium for its manifesto launch, but even at that event, the party had to bus in thousands of people from KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces to fill up the stadium.
This week’s MK party march also followed a parade of over 10,000 EFF supporters through the main street of eThekwini Metro on Tuesday.
But the MK party protest to the eThekwini Metro had nothing to do with service delivery. It was about the Constitutional Court decision that Zuma was not eligible to be a member of Parliament.
Having arrived at Durban’s City Hall where the metro council is based, the MK party supporters were disappointed that Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda was not available to receive their memorandum.
Meanwhile, the MK party leadership insisted that they were not worried about the Constitutional Court decision, saying it actually made them more determined to vote for Zuma.
According to a memorandum handed to authorities of eThekwini Municipality, the court got involved in politics.
“The decision, while disappointing, has not disheartened us. Instead, it has reinforced our belief that the current system imposes 10 unelected people to make decisions for 62-million people.”
Pictured above: Supporters of the MK party outside the Durban City Hall today.
Source: Sihle Mavuso
