DA and ActionSA disown Pastor Shawn Adkins | The Witness

It seems that both the DA and ActionSA have disowned Pastor Shawn Adkins, who recently announced his defection to the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP).

MKP recently officially welcomed Pastor Kevin Naicker and Adkins as new members to the party.

They were officially welcomed by MKP regional co-ordinator Reggie Ngcobo at the Emalahleni Coal Yard and in the media invitation to The Witness, MKP stated that Naicker and Adkins were both previous members of the Democratic Alliance (DA), who had decided to join the MKP.

However, controversy surrounded Adkin’s claim after the DA rebuked it, countering that Adkins had quit the party in 2021 and later joined ActionSA.

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Msunduzi DA caucus leader Ross Strachan said that Adkins’ membership was automatically revoked from the DA when he left the party in 2021.

Shawn Adkins left the DA shortly before the 2021 local government elections. He was then welcomed to ActionSA in a live press conference and his membership [with the DA] was automatically revoked.

“He has not been a member of the DA since 2021. Kevin Naicker has never been a member of the DA. I have no knowledge of who this individual is or his representation on the council or the DA,” said Strachan.

Speaking to The Witness over the weekend, Adkins, who once represented ward 32 in council, said his term as a DA ward councillor ended in 2021. He said he decided to leave the party shortly afterwards.

He also stated that he took a break from politics and only decided to join the MKP this year.

“The description of me moving from ActionSA to MKP is actually incorrect,” he added.

“I think where the confusion occurred was because after I left the DA, I was approached by ActionSA to join the party, but that fell through. So, the last party that I was actively part of was the DA,” said Adkins.

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However, in a statement released by ActionSA in December 2022 titled, “ActionSA KZN welcomes former leaders and councillors to the party”, Adkins, along with Sbongiseni Majola, who is a former DA councillor, were welcomed to the party by ActionSA president Herman Mashaba during a press conference.

Questioned about ActionSA’s press statement at the time and social media videos of the event, Adkins maintained that he was never a member of ActionSA.

I did attend that press conference. I attended this meeting, but you will notice that in the picture, I was only a guest at the gathering.

“You will notice that I chose not to wear any regalia at this meeting. I only attended at the request of a friend whom I travelled with,” said Adkins.

When questioned why his name was featured among those who were welcomed by ActionSA, Adkins said he did engage with ActionSA, but they did not align with what he wanted to achieve as a political leader.

I told them repeatedly that they are not setting up structures that will gain any attraction in the Northern Areas, where they have a very low-key presence. ActionSA virtually has no footprint in Pietermaritzburg.

The Witness reached out to ActionSA to get clarification on this matter.

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Saneli Zuma, the spokesperson for KZN premier candidate of ActionSA Zwakele Mncwango, said Adkins was a member of the DA and not of ActionSA.

“We only know him from the DA. When we looked through our membership history, he was never there,” said Zuma.