KWAMASHU, KwaZulu-Natal — uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) leader Jacob Zuma says his party is ready to take over South Africa, using the final rally of the MK Party’s local government election campaign to urge citizens to vote for the party in the upcoming LGE 2026 polls.
Speaking to the party faithful in KwaMashu, north of Durban, Zuma declared that the MKP was prepared to govern and repeated his conviction that the party holds the solutions to the challenges confronting the country.
First public appearance in over a month
The KwaMashu address marked Zuma’s first public appearance in more than a month. The former president had been out of the public eye since his hospitalisation last month, and his arrival at the campaign closing event was a moment thousands of MK supporters had been eagerly awaiting.
In true Zuma fashion, he opened his address in song, drawing a warm response from the crowd. He appeared jovial and in high spirits throughout the appearance.
Zuma also turned briefly to the subject of his health, telling supporters there was no cause for concern.
Confidence in the party’s electoral prospects
The MKP leader expressed confidence that the party would perform well in the local government elections, framing the vote as an opportunity for the MK Party to step into a governing role. He reiterated his belief that the party is the solution to the problems facing South Africa, and appealed directly to citizens to cast their ballots for the MKP.
The rally served as the wrap-up of the MK Party’s election campaign in a province where the party has invested heavily in building its support base.
Leadership turmoil left unaddressed
While Zuma spoke at length about the party’s readiness to govern, he steered away from the recent leadership challenges and internal turmoil that have unsettled the MKP’s top structures.
His most recent leadership purge was the removal of Secretary General Sibonelvalo, whom Zuma accused of internal factionalism and of meddling in the party’s candidate lists — a dispute that had placed questions about the party’s internal stability at the centre of its pre-election coverage.
None of that was aired on the podium in KwaMashu, where the closing message to supporters was focused squarely on the ballot rather than the party’s internal battles.
What to watch
With the campaign now concluded, attention shifts to whether Zuma’s return to the public stage and his call for voters to back the MKP will translate into gains for the party at the polls. The MK Party’s performance in the local government elections will be an early test of the momentum it claims to have built since its emergence on the national political scene.
For now, the party’s leader has left supporters with a simple pitch: that the MKP is ready to take over South Africa, and that the local government elections are the moment to prove it.
