Former MK Party MP Gezane “Papa Penny” Kobane said internal conditions within the party forced him to leave, accusing certain figures inside the organisation of working against him while leadership failed to act.
The veteran musician confirmed that he has joined the Afrika Mayibuye Movement led by Floyd Shivambu, saying the move was driven by frustration after repeated warnings to party leadership allegedly went ignored.
Speaking in an interview with Newzroom Afrika, Papa Penny said he was pushed to the edge by individuals he described as ANC-linked operatives within MKP structures in Limpopo.
“I never fought with President Zuma or national leaders,” he said.
“The people fighting me were comrades working under the ANC. I warned the leadership that these people were spies trying to destroy MKP from inside, but nothing was done.”
Papa Penny said he initially joined the party believing it represented a genuine struggle for ordinary people, but became increasingly disillusioned after allegedly enduring sustained attacks from within the organisation.
In a resignation letter addressed to Zuma, he said the most painful betrayal came from fellow comrades.
“I could stomach such behaviour if it came from enemies of the revolution,” he wrote. “But when it comes from within our own ranks, it becomes impossible to ignore.”
Despite the dramatic split, Papa Penny appears determined to remain politically active.
He has now been named the Afrika Mayibuye Movement’s mayoral candidate for the Greater Giyani Municipality in the upcoming local government elections.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
IOL Politics
