Corruption-accused former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede has found a new political home, with the MK Party naming her its KwaZulu-Natal deputy convener on Monday.
MK Party secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo made the announcement at a press briefing.
“Today, we wish to announce to South Africans, to the people of KwaZulu-Natal, to the membership of the MK Party, that we are officially announcing uMama uZandile Gumede as the deputy convener of KZN,” Nomvalo said.
“We welcome you, uMama, we’re giving you a very warm reception because you have unquestionable credentials in the politics of KwaZulu-Natal and in the politics of SA.”
Nomvalo said the party was growing while others lost members.
“In the MK Party, we’re always welcoming new members every day,” he said.
“We’re welcoming new members because this is the only alternative voice of the left.
“This is the only remaining voice of the voiceless here in SA.”
He said Gumede would strengthen the party.
“We know that you are coming with a very positive paradigm shift. You are coming with a very positive contribution in the MK Party,” Nomvalo said.
“Let’s join our hands together in building the strong ship of the left.”
Gumede was once one of the most powerful ANC leaders in KwaZulu-Natal.
She was removed as eThekwini mayor in 2019 after her arrest in connection with a R320m Durban solid waste tender.
She and 21 co-accused remained on trial in the Durban high court on charges including fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering linked to the contract.
Gumede pleaded not guilty and was out on R50,000 bail.
Despite the charges, her faction elected her ANC eThekwini regional chairperson in 2022, though the party’s step-aside rule prevented her from exercising the role’s powers.
The ANC disbanded its eThekwini regional executive committee in June last year and left Gumede off the task team that replaced it, ending her role in the region’s politics.
Gumede, a long-time ally of former president Jacob Zuma, said at the time of the 2024 elections that she remained loyal to the ANC despite being left off its candidate lists.
“I am a loyal party member and have not been found guilty. I am waiting for my day in court to clear my name,” she told IOL at the time.
Her move to the MK Party gave it one of the best-known names in eThekwini politics ahead of the local government elections, in a metro where the party took large chunks of ANC support in the 2024 general elections.
IOL
