Floyd Shivambu’s party left with no deputy president
Floyd Shavambu’s party, the Afrika Mayibuye Movement, has lost its second Deputy President in the space of two months, as Robert Nwedo handed in his resignation on 25 November.
The Afrika Mayibuye Movement began in September with two Deputy Presidents: Nwedo and Dr Nolubabalo Mcinga. Nwedo’s resignation comes a month after Mcinga was fired.
Shivambu is now left with no deputy president.
Spokesperson for the party, Sydney Baloyi, told Newsday that the resignation is official, and that Nwedo has resolved to “build something outside of Mayibuye.”
In a letter circulated on social media, signed by Nwedo, he announced his resignation from the party effective immediately.
His focus going forward will be on the workers and the poor of South Africa, as he continues to work under the banner of the Maanda Ashu Workers Union of South Africa (MAWUSA), where he serves as President.
He said he wishes the party the best and hopes it “can be steered in the right direction for true liberation and emancipation of the people.”
The decision to remove the other deputy, Mcinga, was due to organisational and political misconduct, according to the party.
It was made unanimously by its officials to protect the organisation against “infiltration and abuse of office for personal gain.” This was after Mcinga held an unauthorised meeting with uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) leader Jacob Zuma.
Mcinga said in an interview with Newzroom Afrika, however, that she was removed over “gossip and gender discrimination.”
She added that many leaders from MK called her to advise her not to work with Shivambu, saying that “Floyd needs to grow.”
Mcinga said that Shivambu is “very controlling” and “incapable of leading people.” She said he needs to learn humility and leadership from Zuma.
She said he frequently sidelined others in the party’s leadership and made decisions without consulting others.
Baloyi said that the party is currently focused on its first National Convention, taking place from 5 to 7 December, and that “a decision on replacements will be made then or after.”
The Mayibuye Movement
Shivambu has had many political homes in the past. After starting his political career in the ANCYL, he formed the EFF alongside current leader Julius Malema and served as its deputy president.
When he left to join the MK party at the end of 2024, he took on the position of secretary general. However, Shivambu was fired from this position by party leader Zuma in June 2025.
The party attributed this to Shivambu’s controversial trip to Malawi to attend an Easter service at pastor Shepherd Bushiri’s church, a man previously arrested and charged for fraud in South Africa in 2020.
The party said this unauthorised trip, as well as accusations of abuse of office, leaking confidential information and fanning factionalism, led to his removal.
However, in a recent interview with the Sunday Times, Shivambu said he was removed because Zuma was threatened by his popularity in the party, and feared he might replace him as leader.
In starting the Afrika Mayibuye Movement, Shivambu said the party is a “unique, revolutionary response to all South Africans who lost faith in politics.”
“This was reflected in the 2024 elections, where only 39.7% of the voting-age population participated, compared to 89% turnout in 1994.”
He added that the ANC has dismally failed to deliver a better life for all and there are “no liberation alternatives to the ANC’s decline.”
Shivambu said the party would be a “family project” and would become “the most successful political organisation in South Africa.”
Loading ...