FORMER National Freedom Party (NFP) secretary-general Canaan Mdletshe recently joined the Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) in honour of his late leader Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi who was a close ally of former president Jacob Zuma.
Mdletshe ventured into politics from journalism after Zuma, who was the state president at the time, appointed KaMagwaza-Msibi as the science and technology deputy minister.
She employed Mdletshe as her spokesperson.
Mdletshe, who after kaMagwaza-Msibi’s death became an active member and secretary-general of the party, said he left the NFP after its “ill-conceived” decision by the current party leadership under its president Ivan Barnes to join the ANC/DA-led government of provincial unity (GPU) instead of siding with Zuma in honour of KaMagwaza-Msibi.
“The inclusion of the DA was even worse and there was no way that I could remain in the NFP when the party was not only betraying black people but was even betraying kaMagwaza-Msibi,” he said.
NFP deputy president Dodge Sokhela said Zuma appointed kaMagwaza-Msibi on merit instead of favours, but he did not explain keeping her in the government while she was physically unfit for the position.
Mdletshe said when kaMagwaza-Msibi fell ill after a severe stroke that left her crippled, she told him how grateful she was to Zuma for appointing her as a deputy minister and also for keeping her in the office even though she was physically unfit.
KaMagwaza-Msibi collapsed in her Newcastle home on November 16, 2014, five months after the appointment, but remained the deputy minister until 2019, two years before she died at the age of 59.
“So, kaMagwaza-Msibi was always grateful to Zuma as you don’t know what would have had happened to her had Zuma fired her while she was ill leaving her without resources, without medical aid and without medication that she had to take.
“Therefore she was always grateful for the role he played as when she needed him the most, Zuma was there for her.
“When the opportunity came for the NFP to say ‘Msholozi we appreciate what you did for our president’, the NFP decided otherwise, which was why I said this was no longer the NFP that represents kaMagwaza-Msibi,” he said.
Mdletshe said during his term as secretary-general, NFP leaders would on several occasions approach Zuma for advice on how to deal with infighting, which resulted in numerous court battles.
However, he said that close to the May elections, he and three other NFP members, which he declined to name, had a private meeting with Zuma in Durban where the former president impressed him with his political lecture about his vision for the country and why he formed the MKP.
“During that engagement with him (Zuma), I realised that people may see MPK as just another political party, but there is a bigger picture and vision behind what people are seeing.
“Msholozi has a huge plan about the future of South Africa, in particular for black people as he foresees South Africa being a country where black political parties would sing from one hymn book, and share the same vision of black people,” he said.
Mdletshe said he would remain an ordinary member of the MKP until Zuma and the leadership decide on his deployment.
“MKP remains at the heart of the people of South Africa, so my involvement is to ensure that MKP continues to grow but also I will play a role in the preparation for the 2026 local government elections because that is where the focus of the leadership should be now,” he said.
Sokhela said Mdletshe had the right to join any party of his choice.
“Mdletshe came to the party for work purposes as the spokesperson for deputy minister (kaMagwaza-Msibi).
He said it made sense for the NFP to join GPU as this saved the government from collapsing.
“If the NFP supported MKP, it means we would have collapsed the provincial government. We had to consider the interests of the people and service delivery.
Playing a role in the government does not mean you are betraying, but it means you are contributing positively and being constructive,” said Sokhela.