Zuma-Sambudla believes her father is being misled by those around him.
Former South African president and MK party leader Jacob Zuma. Picture: Gallo Images/Daily Maverick/Felix Dlangamandla
The fascinating little political soap opera from the Banana Province, concerning the comings and goings in the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, has taken an interesting turn, making one wonder whether it is no longer the South African version of the ’80s classic Dynasty.
That’s because the king… sorry, party leader… Jacob Zuma has seemingly voiced no objection to the expulsion from the party of his outspoken, controversial daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.
Zuma-Sambudla booted with Ndhlela
She was expelled along with the party’s former national spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela.
She was accused of undermining unity and promoting factional narratives with her statements and social media posts.
The move is interesting for a number of reasons, not least because it was precisely her incendiary social media posts which played a role in sparking the July 2021 “insurrection” in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere after her father was jailed for contempt of the Constitutional Court.
No hard feelings
Also, because it seems to put paid to critics’ claims that MK is a Zuma “family business”.
Zuma-Sambudla professes no hard feelings about her firing and believes her father is being misled by those around him.
So is the elder Zuma just a figurehead these days? Or is he still pulling the strings in the background?
