Leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), Jacob Zuma, has apologised to MKP supporters in the Eastern Cape for his no-show on Saturday.
Zuma was supposed to attend an MKP rally at the NU 2 Stadium in Motherwell. in the Eastern Cape In a video that has been shared on social media, a handful of supporters are seen leaving the stadium as no MK Party leaders appear to be on site.
However, taking to social media to address the situation, Zuma cited an emergency situation ‒ the death of a comrade ‒ as having been beyond his control and the reason for the no-show.
“I would like to take this opportunity apologise to you, comrades, for not making it to the proposed rally in the Eastern Cape so we could have an opportunity to talk about our organisation the MK Party. I was unable to come to you because I ran into a problem that was beyond my control as one of my comrades died. This comrade was very close to me and he was an MK Party member. He was very trusted man among my comrades. It would not have been possible for me to miss his funeral as he was close and dear to me,” Zuma said in a video statement posted on the party’s official X account.
He said due to the distance factor, there were other problems which made attending the rally impossible on the day. “East London and Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) are too far apart. I could not attend both these two engagements at the same time. I decided to send two comrades whom you know to send this message. We will, in due time, set up another date in which we will come to you. I want to come to you when I have enough tine to engage with you on how we change this country once we take over,“ he said.
On X, a user identified as Inyathi Emnyama said a healthy party would have been able to conclude its programme without relying on one leader.
“A healthy party, Zuma or no Zuma, was going to continue and still get masses. ANC rallies are mostly successful without Ramaphosa or Top 7. Any organisation that depends on its leaders to thrive is doomed to fail.”
According to SABC News, Zuma, who attended the funeral service of Phumelele Tokwe, also took time to address internal party squabbles.
“We are here to address conflict members of the party. But I will not dwell much about that because this is not the right platform. But there are challenges,” the SABC reported.