By Celani Sikhakhane
- Phumlani Mfeka and Marry Phadi, once senior figures in the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, have launched a new group to support traditional leaders.
- Mfeka said the party’s leadership failed traditional leaders and confirmed he will never join another political party, focusing instead on rural development.
Phumlani Mfeka, a former member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature for the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), has quit the party after clashes over its leadership.
Mfeka was once seen as a possible secretary general of the MKP. He was accused of playing a role in pushing out Floyd Shivambu, and now he is turning against his former party.
This week, Mfeka launched a new group called Monarch and Royal Leadership alongside Marry Phadi, the former MKP interim chairperson in Mpumalanga. Phadi was expelled after she publicly burned the party’s constitutional documents, accusing the MKP of becoming a family business.
In an interview with Scrolla.Africa, Mfeka said he left because the MKP’s leaders had failed traditional leaders.
“The MKP have failed traditional leaders. I won’t single out any person but the whole leadership. This thing started at Orlando Stadium and it also happened at Moses Mabhida in Durban where traditional leaders were undermined. They then decided to quit MKP of which I then followed them,” he said.
Mfeka stressed he will not join any political party. Instead, the Monarch and Royal is a non-profit organisation to champion traditional leadership and land development.
Their first stop will be a visit to King Mswati III in eSwatini in October. The group is also calling on the business community to help develop rural areas under traditional leadership.
Pictured above: Former MKP member of KZN Legislature forms a new organisation.
Image source: Monarch and Royal
