MK Party has been issued with a stern warning from Minister in the Presidency

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says South Africans won’t be intimidated and bullied by the Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) Party; there will be free and fair elections, and law enforcement agencies will be ready.

She said the violent mayhem that happened in July 2021 will not be repeated; law enforcement agencies will arrest those threatening violence if the elections do not go their way.

“There is nobody who is going to intimidate South Africans. There will be free and fair elections in this country; we will protect that with all we have,” she said.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES MUST DO THEIR JOB – NTSHAVNENI

According to TimesLive, Ntshavheni said anybody who threatens violence when South Africa has dispute resolution mechanisms for elections or any dispute doesn’t deserve to live among South Africans. Law enforcement agencies should make sure such people are brought to book.

Meanwhile, The Jacob Zuma-led MK Party has threatened that “all hell will break loose” if Zuma is not allowed on the ballot paper. There will not be an election, it says.

“If they remove the MKP and President Zuma from the ballot as the face of the campaign and try to take our rights, there won’t be elections in South Africa,” said Bonginkosi Khanyile, the party’s youth president, on Wednesday.

He said they were prepared to lay down their lives for Zuma, the party’s presidential candidate, head of the May general elections.

ZUMA CAN NOT BE VOTED BACK TO PARLIAMENT BY MK PARTY – ANALYST

The party has announced Zuma as its presidential candidate for the 29 May elections.

However, Zuma’s standing for public office is not feasible according to the Constitution, says independent political analyst Melanie Verwoerd. She said the South African Constitution is clear on Zuma’s fate.

“As far as I know, you can’t go to Parliament once you have had a sentence of longer than 12 months without an option of a fine,” said Verwoerd on Monday, 11 March.

She said violence could be a possibility based on recent comments by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) MK party member Visvin Reddy, who said there would be violence if the MK party was blocked from contesting the 2024 general elections.

‘IT’S A CONTRADICTION AND FALLACY,’ SAYS MBEKI ON ZUMA

Former President Thabo Mbeki also launched a scathing attack on Zuma, saying his stance was wrong and made no sense. He said it was a contradiction and a fallacy that anyone could be a member of the governing ANC while campaigning for another party to remove the ANC from power.

“You can’t say I remain a member of the ANC, but I am going to support a party that is going to campaign to defeat the ANC. That doesn’t make sense. One of those two things is wrong,” Mbeki said on Wednesday.