‘He thrives in chaos’: Inside MKP’s failed election campaign as Zuma vanishes from view | News24

- Jacob Zuma has not been seen in public since falling ill at a campaign event on 6 October, despite being discharged from the hospital on 17 October.

- With its manifesto rally cancelled and secretary-general axed 13 days before the polls, the MK Party’s first local election campaign has descended into what insiders call a “catastrophic mess”.

- Party insiders say Zuma “thrives in chaos” and that the dysfunction is a feature of his leadership style, born of years of fighting for survival inside the ANC.

- For more political news, visit News24 Politics.

Months before the 4 November local government elections, the MK Party was meant to make its grand entrance into municipal politics. While the polling data predicts the party will take some 13% of the vote, it is unravelling.

Its founder and president, Jacob Zuma, has not been seen in public since 6 October, when he fell ill during a campaign event in uMsinga, KwaZulu-Natal, and was admitted to Netcare St Anne’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg.

Zuma was discharged on 17 October, with his party describing him as “healthy and jovial”.

Yet he has not appeared at a single campaign event since – not at the Umgababa mini-rally on 18 October, nor at the Umlazi rally on 25 October.

His absence has coincided with the most turbulent stretch in the party’s recent history: a cancelled manifesto launch; a collapsed candidate selection process; the sacking of its eighth secretary-general in less than three years in existence, 13 days before the polls; and a restructured parliamentary caucus.

For some inside the party, the collapse is a feature of Zuma’s leadership style.

A source with intimate knowledge of the party’s operations said:

“The election campaign is dead because president Zuma thrives in chaos. There is chaos in uMkhonto, so when there is chaos, there is no campaign. That is what makes uMkhonto weSizwe survive.”

The source made the analogy that a household mirrors its leader’s persona.

“Every institution becomes the character of the person who is leading the institution. There is nothing happening in uMkhonto; instead, we are fighting, there are missing funds, some have not been given money to campaign because there is no money, and yet we are the biggest political party in KwaZulu-Natal.

“The IEC gives us a lot of money, but we have not received a cent to campaign. Why? Because president Zuma thrives in chaos. I am not badmouthing president Zuma; I am saying it as a matter of fact.”

READ | Jacob Zuma discharged from KZN hospital

According to the source, one of the reasons why Zuma operated like this was that “he had to fight for his survival while he was still in the ANC when they were attacking him. He then created a character, and that became part and parcel of his DNA”.

Another source with intimate knowledge of the party described the current situation as a “catastrophic mess”.

“Presidents are deployed by the SGs, so if he’s got no deployment, because his officials tend to be incompetent and there are no rallies happening, then obviously you’re not going to see him in the public eye, but if there’s a rally, you will see him.”

The insider said Zuma’s absence reflected the lack of an official national campaign plan.

“Unfortunately, you’re dealing with incompetent people. I’m not rubbishing the party. If there’s no campaign, where and how are you going to see the president?”

In his view, the party’s election campaign was a “complete failure”.

“It’s failed. There’s no communication. The absence of the president because there is no rally. Where is the manifesto launch? Nothing. The MK Party is in a failed state, on the eve of an election. That’s a fact. People who are occupying senior positions there must just accept that they failed the party and the people who follow them.”

News24 previously reported that the party cancelled its “Siyathatha” manifesto rally, scheduled for 18 October, just five days before it was due to take place.

The party said the cancellation would allow it to redirect resources towards ward-level community engagement.

WATCH I Former president Jacob Zuma remains at Netcare St Anne's Hospital in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, where he is under the care of the surgeon-general. @News24 pic.twitter.com/5HylQkiQMN

— Amanda Khoza-Dlamini - The Journalist (@MandaKhoza) October 11, 2026

But the SABC reported that Zuma’s continued hospitalisation was part of the context, and TimesLIVE reported that “financial questions hang over the election campaign” with service providers reluctant to work with the party because of unpaid bills.

Instead of a national launch, the party distributed its 2026 local government elections “People’s Mandate” electronically to party structures and members on 15 October.

It simultaneously launched the national “Molo Makhelwane” campaign – a door-to-door mobilisation drive running until midnight on 3 November.

This is the party’s first local government elections, and hence it was meant to be a landmark moment. Instead, there has been no national rally, no public manifesto launch, and no appearance by the party’s president.

While the first anniversary in December 2024 drew thousands to Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, there was no similar gathering to rally supporters for the party’s maiden local government elections.

This may well be because in Zuma’s extended absence, the party’s candidate selection process descended into open revolt.

The SABC previously reported that disgruntled party members protested its candidate list during an interfaith prayer meeting in Durban.

On 15 October, the SABC reported that Free State members publicly accused the party’s political elections task team of manipulating candidate lists and undermining the democratic nomination process.

Earlier, on 3 October, it also reported that Zuma had skipped a rally in uMhlathuze, despite his face appearing on promotional posters.

Supporters chanted “Ukuphi uZuma? [Where is Zuma’?]” as KwaZulu-Natal leader Willie Mchunu apologised on the president’s behalf and said he would not always be able to attend all party activities.

Three days later, Zuma was hospitalised. He has not been seen since.

On 22 October, he removed Sibonelo Nomvalo as secretary-general with immediate effect. The party also confirmed his removal as an MP.

The decision came days after Zuma returned home from the hospital, and the stated reasons cut to the heart of the party’s dysfunction. This includes a near-mutiny over the councillor-selection process, alleged factionalism, possible dual remuneration, delays in obtaining campaign material, changes to the parliamentary caucus and administration that were allegedly not communicated to Zuma or national officials, and the creation of high-level deployment committees without the knowledge of the relevant leadership structures.

The parliamentary changes were significant. On 12 October, while Zuma was in hospital, new whips were appointed to replace the previous arrangement.

On the same day he fired Nomvalo, Zuma issued directives to parliamentary leader John Hlophe, ordering the restoration of the whip structure that existed before the earlier changes.

Asked why the position of the secretary-general was a poisoned chalice, the insider said: “The position is not a poisoned chalice. It’s those who occupy that seat who are poisoned chalices.”

News24 has seen a letter from Nomvalo to Zuma, dated October 26, in which he begged the party leader for a meeting, and said his dismissal appeared to have been based on lies spread by a faction after he moved to implement the leadership’s instructions on the deployment of mayoral candidates.

“I have more to say if we eventually meet up,” he wrote.

“I want to emphasise the point that I am extremely concerned about the direction of our party because the modus operandi of undermining your intellectual capacity by submitting fake reports to you and programmed people who come to tell lies about other comrades is now back in full force.”

A senior leader, who asked not to be named, admitted to News24 that internal challenges affected the party’s election campaign.

“Never mind his absence because he is obviously recovering, but I think he is well now. I think the thing that has affected us is the national-level disorganisation. Not preparing for the elections. Money was squandered, the candidate selection process was a mess, and the IEC candidate submission was a mess, so provinces decided to proceed with their own campaign.”

The insider said that during the election campaign, they did not expect Zuma to be the main attraction, as they understood that he needed to recuperate.

“We knew that he was old and that there were challenges. I think the positive that came out of this is that we started projecting a party outside of the old man. We started demonstrating to people that the party can survive beyond him. Otherwise, everything was going to be about him, and we were not going to be able to move without his authorisation.”

The insider also blamed poor communication on spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu’s alleged preoccupation with other positions.

“He’s not doing his job. We are on the ground and doing old school campaigning to win votes.”

The source told News24 that Zuma might make his first public appearance this weekend as part of the party’s last push in KwaZulu-Natal.

“There’s likely going to be something that’s going to take place in KZN, and the president might come out. On Sunday, they are definitely planning something at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu; he will definitely make an appearance. He really wants to be seen.”

WATCH I Several vehicles believed to be former president Jacob Zuma security entourage were seen leaving the Netcare St Anne's Hospital in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday night. Zuma was admitted to the hospital on 6 October. @News24 pic.twitter.com/8umQxvO24h

— Amanda Khoza-Dlamini - The Journalist (@MandaKhoza) October 17, 2026

A public appearance by Zuma might be the push the party needs to regain trust after contradictory information circulated during his hospitalisation.

The same source said the party was in severe disarray.

“There is this chaos in MK that always erupts out of nowhere and makes things that we were not confident would happen, happen. It’s both an advantage and a disadvantage. We thrive in the chaos, and we have accepted it. You need an element of chaos for things to go well. That is the chaos that attracts people to the MK Party.”

Speaking to the SABC on Thursday night, Mahlangu admitted that campaigning had not been easy.

“I don’t think for any party in South Africa. We didn’t get funding from Rebecca Oppenheimer, and we didn’t get money from the leader of Capitec, like other parties, so we are trusting the ground-up plan.

“People are giving us R100 there, R10 there and our people have shown general love for us across the country,” he said.

Still, Mahlangu insisted, the MK Party was seeing much support.

“Our campaigns have been going very well… Campaigning is not easy because it hits on the pocket, but we have seen a lot of love, and we have done tremendously well.”

He said Zuma was doing well, and that doctors had said he “required some rest” after seven days of back-to-back campaigning.

“He’s taken it easy for some time now. During this weekend we will see him. He is set to address members of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party tomorrow (Friday) on all our online streams. I can confirm that the president is jovial.

“I was with him in KZN two days ago. He’s healthy, he’s sharp and has gotten the rest he deserves. Campaigning can take its toll on you. It’s not an easy thing to campaign in two or three cities in a day. He was doing it through many provinces at many times, and I think it’s taken its toll on all of us.”

It is unclear what time Zuma will deliver the virtual address on Friday.

Mahlangu said the party hoped Zuma would make an appearance to greet the masses before 4 November.

Political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu reiterated that there was no MK Party without Zuma.

If Zuma does indeed offer a glimpse of himself this weekend, it will boost the party’s fortunes.

“It’s going to ignite the base. It would definitely have helped the party if Zuma had been out there singing and dancing. People come out in their numbers to see Zuma, not Duduzani Zuma.”