Zuma returns to stage, promises MK Party will ‘take back our country’ - TimesLIVE

MK Party president Jacob Zuma told thousands of supporters who braved extreme heat at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu on Sunday that the MK Party will soon take over the land and lead many municipalities.

“In a few days we will be taking back our country,” Zuma said.

“In a few days we will be taking over our land. We will be in charge of many municipalities. No matter what other people can say and do, we are ready.”

Zuma, 84, was addressing the MK Party’s final Sithatha Omasipala rally ahead of Wednesday’s local government elections.

It was his first in-person appearance since he collapsed in uMsinga and was admitted to Netcare St Anne’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg on October 6, where he spent 11 days.

WATCH | MK Party president Jacob Zuma takes to the dance floor during the party’s rally at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu. Video: Sandile Ndlovu https://t.co/QgmOIWQ0az

He was discharged on October 17 but continued undergoing observation and missed the uMgababa mini-rally on October 18.

His convoy arrived just after 2pm on Sunday and the stadium went wild.

He stepped out arm-in-arm with his wife MaNgema-Zuma, wearing a MKP T-shirt, his trademark cap, thinner and slower than before but jovial and grinning.

Thousands who had been waiting since 8am pushed to the fence, whistling and ululating.

Once on the podium, flanked by first deputy president Duduzane Zuma and national chair Mxolisi Phakathi, he thanked South Africans who wished him well.

“I want to thank all South Africans who wished me well when I was sick. I felt your prayers. You kept me alive,” he said.

He then told the crowd that the time to take back the country has come.

“We have made a very big call to the South African people to take back the country, and I am sure that our people are going to do it. We are going to make South Africa a country among countries. But more than anything, vote for uMkhonto weSizwe, and I will be very happy,” he said.

Then came the line that lifted the roof: “I want to say when we vote as black people, the country must be governed by black people.”

The stadium exploded. Fists in the air. Chants. For Zuma’s supporters, it was the truth they have waited to hear.

Zuma said the MK Party is ready to take over municipalities where service delivery has collapsed. He said residents frustrated by dry taps and darkness must grab the chance to change leadership on November 4.

In eThekwini, where he was speaking, latest polls put the MK Party ahead with 47%, followed by the DA at 21% and the ANC at 10%. Nationally, the party is polling around 12% in its first ever local government election.

The party was formed on September 7 2023 and launched on December 16 2023 by Zuma himself. Six months later it shocked the country in the May 2024 national elections, winning 14.6% and 58 seats to become the official opposition and the biggest party in KwaZulu-Natal.

I believe I stand a very good chance of winning because I got the support of the majority of Indian people, the coloureds and blacks from the surrounding informal settlement.

Since then it has been turbulent. The party has had eight secretaries-general. Deputy presidents have come and gone, including Duduzane Zuma and Tony Yengeni. Structures have been dissolved and reappointed.

The latest to go was Sibonelo Nomvalo, removed as secretary-general on October 22. The party cited factionalism and problems with councillor selection. Nomvalo held a tearful press conference in Durban last week claiming fake reports and AI pictures were used to push him out.

But for those who braved the sun on Sunday, MKP is Zuma and Zuma is MKP.

Rosemary Shabalala, 60, from ward 6 in Mpumalanga township, about 40km west of Durban, left home at 5am. She voted ANC all her life until Zuma formed MKP.

“I voted ANC in all previous elections until Zuma formed the MK. In May 2024 I voted MKP. The ANC has not been truthful to us black voters. I believe we will see great changes when Zuma and the MKP take charge of eThekwini. We have no water, no lights. The ANC is finished,” she said.

Siphesihle Luthuli, 18, from Isipingo, south of Durban, will be voting for the first time on Wednesday. He said he believes the MK Party will bring change.

“As young people we want change, we want jobs, we want services. We don’t want water tankers, we want permanent uninterrupted water and electricity,” he said.

Derric Mkhize, MK Party’s ward 65 candidate, said he was relieved to see Zuma after news that he was unwell. His ward is mixed — black, Indian, coloured and white.

“All of them have welcomed the arrival of the MKP. They are tired of ANC and DA. My priority would be to ensure that we have uninterrupted water and electricity. Once we take over eThekwini Municipality, we will scrap all the debt of the poor and those who are in arrears. We want to scrap the current billing system because all they do at present is estimation. Our people cannot pay for darkness and dry taps,” he said.

Zahara Ismail, 32, one of a handful of Indian councillor candidates for the MK Party, is a candidate in ward 30, which was the focal point of the immigration crisis a few months back.

“I believe I stand a very good chance of winning because I got the support of the majority of Indian people, the coloureds and blacks from the surrounding informal settlement. My priority would be to get formalised electricity to the informal settlement and enhance service delivery,” she said.

Zuma closed his speech the way he always does. No press conference. No questions. The DJ dropped the bass. The backing singers came forward. The 84-year-old grabbed the microphone, lifted his fist and started his favourite song, Awuleth’ uMshini Wami! [Bring me my machine gun]. Thousands of hands mimicked gun shapes. KwaMashu sang with him.