Real MK Party founder accuses Jacob Zuma of using the party as a personal piggy bank

In a blistering attack on the current leadership of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, expelled founder Jabulani Khumalo has accused former President Jacob Zuma of “hijacking” the organisation to fund his private lifestyle.

In a wide-ranging interview with Newsday, he alleges that Zuma holds no genuine interest in the welfare of South Africans.

Despite a series of legal defeats, Khumalo remains resolute, announcing plans to take his battle for control of the party to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

Khumalo, who registered the party in 2023, insists his original vision was to create a platform for citizens who felt ignored by the government.

However, he claims this vision was derailed when he allowed Zuma to campaign for the party. “We were then hijacked by a man called Jacob Zuma and his daughter,” Khumalo stated, alleging the takeover was executed through fraud.

“They wrote a letter to IEC to say that I’m resigning as a party… whereas I wrote a letter… to say… we as the directors of the party have decided that [we] will use Zuma face in the ballot paper”.

Central to Khumalo’s grievance is the assertion that Zuma’s involvement is purely self-serving.

Khumalo argues that the former president is exploiting the party’s momentum for personal protection and financial benefit rather than political liberation.

Zuma uses “this in order for him to benefit from the fans of the party, Khumalo alleged, adding that Zuma is “misusing the name of the party by fighting his own battles”.

Khumalo went further, attacking Zuma’s character and alleged lack of empathy for the electorate.

“He is using all his charms and everything to make people loves him but he doesn’t like people… He doesn’t like the people of South Africa,” Khumalo claimed.

He described Zuma’s modus operandi as parasitic: “Zuma wants to have people around him to use them and then dump them”.

Allegations of financial misconduct

The interview shed light on what Khumalo describes as “tuck shop” finances within the organization, alleging a total lack of accountability regarding public funds.

Khumalo claims that parliamentary funding meant for constituency work is being diverted.

Former MK Party SG Floyd Shivambu alleged that R7 million is being looted from the MKP’s coffers every month by some of its members.

Shivambu, who was the MKP’s SG for seven months after defecting from the EFF, said that the organisation’s finances are a mess.

“Withdrawals of no less than R7 million every month from the organisational coffers,” alleged Shivambu.

“Every SG who has ever raised that got removed from the leadership of MKP,” he added. He would not give further details on the matter.

Since launching over two years ago, the MKP has had nine SGs.

Newsday reported how, in August 2025, the MK Party admitted to being in serious financial trouble, sitting in at least R28 million in debt, with independent auditors having findings against the party’s finances.

“The R7 million that is being taken out… is not the only one… there is lots of monies that are being transferred to certain individuals who are as close to Zuma so that those funds could be used for Zuma’s private matters,” said Khumalo.

He painted a picture of an organisation where funds are allegedly treated as a personal piggy bank.

“Even in parliament people are just taking money as if is… their tuck shop because there are no controls,” Khumalo said, asserting that Zuma “enjoys stealing the money of the party.”

In response, the MK Party has rejected Khumalo’s claims as ‘false, self-serving and disruptive.’

They claimed he no longer represents the party, affirming Zuma as leader, dismissing Khumalo as irrelevant, and condemning his legal challenges and statements as “misguided.”

Legal battles and road ahead

The dispute has played out extensively in South African courts, with Khumalo facing repeated setbacks.

In May 2024, the Electoral Court dismissed his application to invalidate Zuma’s leadership, ruling that Khumalo had been expelled from the party and therefore lacked legal standing to challenge its leadership structures.

The court noted that Khumalo failed to bring expert evidence to prove the alleged forgery of his signature.

Subsequent attempts to be reinstated as a Member of Parliament were also dismissed by the Western Cape High Court.

By October 2025, Khumalo had suffered another blow when the Constitutional Court dismissed his urgent application to reclaim the party, effectively solidifying Zuma’s control.

Despite these losses, Khumalo remains undeterred. “I can’t let go of my baby to a thief like Zuma,” he declared in the interview.

“It’s my baby. I can’t let go… to a man who doesn’t think… who can’t even lead this thing properly.”

Despite death threats which he claims he received as recently as December—telling him he “won’t see January”—Khumalo is adamant about removing Zuma.

He concluded with a harsh directive for the former president: “He must leave as early as possible and die in the ANC… Not in the MK party. It’s my party”.

Watch Jabulani Khumalo’s full interview with Newsday below