Zuma: ‘I’ll have tea with Ramaphosa’
The MK Party leader accused the ANC of “gatekeeping” the history of those who fought for freedom, including members of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), the ANC’s former armed wing
Black News 
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party leader, Jacob Zuma, says he plans to engage ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa in a bid to end what he described as a growing dispute over the legacy of liberation struggle figures.
Speaking on Monday at his party’s second anniversary commemoration of anti-apartheid activist Solomon Mahlangu in Mamelodi, Zuma accused the ANC of “gatekeeping” the history of those who fought for freedom, including members of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), the ANC’s former armed wing.
Zuma accused his former party of gatekeeping those who fought for the liberation of the country, including members of the ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the ANC.
“I’ll be drinking tea with Ramaphosa to tell him that we can’t fight over things we shouldn’t be fighting about. We need to tell him that this was not done before — asking people where they were when we were fighting for freedom,” he said.
Zuma, who led the ANC from 2007 to 2017, said his own role in the liberation struggle — including commanding Mahlangu — should entitle him to participate in commemorations, regardless of his expulsion from the party.
“We trained this soldier, we worked with him, we sent him home to fight,” he said. “He fought and was captured by the Boers, then it is said that this is an ANC person.”
He argued that those who were not part of MK’s military structures should not dictate who is allowed to honour struggle icons.
“They cannot say, when they know we were soldiers,that we should not celebrate him. We trained him, gave him weapons, and then they say he is not ours.”
Zuma also used the platform to criticise the current state of the ANC, saying it had failed to deliver full liberation.
“The ANC of today is not the ANC we know,” he said. “We did everything that was important and could have taken us far, but there were people who changed the ANC and made it what it is not.”
Despite being expelled from the ANC in November 2024 after forming the MK Party, Zuma reiterated his long-standing claim that he still considers himself a member.
Meanwhile, MK Party secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo struck an upbeat tone about the party’s electoral prospects, telling supporters that internal polling suggested strong momentum ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Nomvalo said the party was on track to take control of municipalities in Gauteng, but cautioned that this would depend on unity within its ranks.
“We must persuade even our ex-boyfriends and girlfriends to vote for the MK Party,” he said. “There is no other alternative except the MK Party.”
He also took aim at the ANC, accusing it of corruption and urging its members to prepare for electoral defeat.
“Let’s tell the thieves of the ANC that they should start packing, because we are coming into office and the countdown has begun,” Nomvalo said.
