Once again, former president Jacob Zuma has pulled a “no-show” at a rally, but this time due to his safety being threatened, the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party said.
ONCE again, former president Jacob Zuma has pulled a “no-show” at a rally, at Senwabarwana in Limpopo, but this time due to his safety being threatened, the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party said.
Zuma was supposed to address a Freedom Day rally in the area after traditional leader Kgoshi TJ Maleboho invited him as a guest.
He did not show up at an Eastern Cape rally last month as he said he had to attend a funeral service of one of his comrades.
In an interview with the SABC, MK Party provincial leader Cyril Jack confirmed that Zuma could not attend due to security reasons.
“I can confirm that the president, due to security reasons, could not make it. We received the message late yesterday, and you people in the media understand it better and going through social media you’d understand due to what happened yesterday,” he said.
This comes after Jabulani Khumalo, the party founder and the man who registered the party, was axed along with several other members.
The reason for their dismissal was that the party wanted to cleanse itself of “rogue” elements.
In a statement, MKP highlighted that Zuma had requested Khumalo to register the party on his behalf, but due to the “aims of advancing the revolution of the people”, he was booted out.
In January, the party faced leadership challenges and announced a restraining order against its owner.
According to the party, Khumalo had no mandate to stand on behalf of the party as he was not elected as president, saying he did not contribute to MK’s growth.
Meanwhile, Jack maintained that their campaign drive has been going strong since day one.
“Remember, we are the only party that has been running mini rallies, motorcades as well as meet and greets. We started very on set, understanding that we are running from zero budget, we had to be proactive in terms of our programmes,” he said.
The party has been campaigning across the country.
