Zuma says Yengeni will assist with the administration of the MK party.
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader Jacob Zuma has announced Tony Yengeni as the second deputy president of the party.
Zuma made this announcement in Durban on Thursday.
“We have decided to have one of the cadres we have been with for years… that comrade that is going to join us at the top leadership is Tony Yengeni,” he said.
What about John Hlophe?
Zuma said the party has now decided to have a second deputy president because the first deputy president, John Hlophe, has too much on his plate.
“As you have heard that uMkhonto weSizwe is growing, and it is one of the bigger political parties in the country, and it is there to change the situation of our country.
“As you know, we have a deputy president who has [been] put in a very serious area to lead our people who are in parliament. He is a very serious and well-known comrade… we want him now to concentrate mainly on parliament and deal with parliamentary issues and legal things.
“He can’t do that and also be at the main office,” he said.
Zuma said Yengeni, a former ANC member, is suitable for this position because he has struggle credentials and because he has fought for the liberation of “black” South Africans.
“Indeed, he did everything that is supposed to be done and added the political education, and he has remained a solid leader and a solid cadre.
“I just thought I should mention this because he is the man that I am going to be working with in the leadership of this party, we come from very far with him, I trust him as I trust many cadres I have worked with,” he said.
Yengeni’s speech
In his first public address as the third most important person in the MK party, Yengeni whose nickname is “Gucci socialist” because of his expensive taste, paid tribute to Zuma’s political activism.
“We have leaders who love themselves more than they love their people or the country. But comrade Jacob Zuma is different. He still stays in his rural village in Nkandla, where he originates from.
“Throughout his adult life, he struggled and sacrificed; he has demonstrated his undying love for his people and his country,” he said.
He said even though Zuma is a pensioner, he is still fighting for “economic” and “social” freedom, including the prosperity of his people.
He said that both he and Zuma were targets of politically motivated corruption charges that have landed them in trouble with the law. He was particularly referring to the arms deal.
“History has its trials; the so-called arms deal was one of them. Both of us were dragged into it; we were the only two senior leaders charged,” he said.
Yengeni said he is worried that the arms deal case that Zuma is facing is taking too long to conclude. He described it as a travesty of justice.
“It shows how the justice system can be manipulated and abused,” he said.
He said he was also outraged when Zuma was sent to prison after undermining the Constitutional Court. Yengeni had also represented Zuma during his disciplinary hearing with the ANC before Zuma was expelled from the party.
“In moments of crisis, a true leader turns to those he trusts most,” he said.
