MK party secretary-general Arthur Zwane resigns

The MK party has lost another of its top leaders in secretary-general Arthur Zwane, who resigned on Monday. 

Zwane assumed the position when former secretary-general Sihle Ngubane left to become an MP. 

Party leader Jacob Zuma previously said those in parliament could not assume positions in the national executive committee. He said this was to ensure the party remained the centre of power and deter careerism.

In his resignation letter published on social media, Zwane said he had realised the volume of work in the secretariat office was beyond his limits and would distract from his personal business interests. 

“I'm humbled by the confidence you had in me, starting from being DSG [deputy secretary-general] and later SG. I'll be available to hand over to the newly appointed SG at any determined time. I will be available to help with other organisational matters you want me to help with — however, not on a full-time basis,” Zwane wrote to Zuma.

In its short time on the political scene, the MK party has developed a reputation for purging some leaders. The party took a large chunk of its constituency from the ANC, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal where it managed to unseat the party of its majority. 

The MK party’s most prominent purge was that of Jabulani Khumalo, who was credited as its founder. Khumalo has taken his fight to be reinstated as party leader to the courts. 

Zwane's letter comes as Zuma prepares to face charges by the ANC, which could see him expelled.

Zuma — a former ANC president who turned away from the party five months before the elections — will be hauled before the ANC’s disciplinary committee on July 17. He faces a charge of misconduct for endorsing the MK party on December 16.

He has maintained that he remains a member of the ANC in good standing, despite having admitted to establishing the MK Party to unseat “Ramaphosa's ANC”. 

TimesLIVE