'Honey I shrunk the EFF'
Earlier this year, just ahead of the national elections, a May edition of Friday Briefing asked if the EFF had reached its glass ceiling, as polling saw it tracking behind the newly formed MK Party (MKP).
The results came in, revealing the answer was a resounding yes.
The EFF failed to build on its support from the 2019 election of 10.8%, dipping to 9.52% in 2024. In a further blow, the MKP took its place as the third-largest party in the National Assembly, leaving the EFF in fourth position.
In August, Floyd Shivambu dealt fresh bruises to the EFF when he dumped the party to join Jacob Zuma's MKP, bringing to a close a 16-year relationship he had with party leader Julius Malema.
Shivambu's exit opened the door for other high-profile EFF members to make their move. It resulted in Mzwanele Manyi, Busisiwe Mkhwebane and Dali Mpofu swopping the colour red for green, as the MKP cannibalised EFF leadership.
In this week's edition of Friday Briefing, we ask whether the EFF can survive Jacob Zuma's MKP and the tyranny of Julius Malema?
University of Johannesburg's Professor Mcebisi Ndletyana reflects on what the attraction of the MKP has been for the likes of Floyd Shivambu, even though the party's policies are very different to that of the EFF, a party Shivambu helped co-found.
He concludes Shivambu feels no conviction with the MKP but joined it to avoid oblivion. But it's unlikely that he may find Zuma any different from Malema. The MKP is a patron-based party, built around Zuma, and has attracted everybody who was aggrieved by Cyril Ramaphosa's presidency. He examines whether the party has what it takes to remain a force once Zuma is no more.
In-depth writer Muhammad Hussain spoke to MKP's Head of Presidency, Magasela Mzobe, about the state of the party, the health of leader Jacob Zuma and what has attracted so many high-profile personalities to join MKP.
A request was made to the EFF to interview someone in the top leadership but there was no response.
In our third contribution, political journalist and News24 columnist Qaanitah Hunter considers how the same traits that once made Malema a galvanising leader are now undermining the party. So while the MKP has had a massive impact on the EFF, perhaps it is time for Malema to do a bit of introspection, especially as the party now finds itself outside the rising tide of opposition politics that are challenging established power structures as the continent falls out of love with liberation movements.
In his submission, Wits University's Dr William Mpofu examines these developments in Africa, which saw the ANC lose its majority as well as the long standing Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) fall to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). In Mozambique protests, have erupted over Frelimo holding onto power.
Finally, we bring you our new satirical column, My F*k Mzansi, which will hopefully give you a bit of a chuckle over some of South Africa's more absurd moments this past week.
Have a good weekend.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor.
MKP's ethno-nationalism and the cult of Zuma: A party on borrowed time
The MKP is a patron-based party. It's built around Zuma, based on his charisma, and has attracted those aggrieved by Cyril Ramaphosa's presidency, writes Mcebisi Ndletyana.
The EFF's descent: How Malema's demagoguery turned to tyranny
The tragedy of the EFF lies in its transformation from a disruptive force into a party dominated by one man's ambition, writes Qaanitah Hunter.
Q&A with Magasela Mzobe | MK Party's head of presidency talks Zuma, Malema and party's attraction
Following a shake-up of the MK Party's leadership structures, the party's head of presidency, Magasela Mzobe, spoke to News24's Muhammad Hussain this week about the state of the party, the health of leader Jacob Zuma and what has attracted so many high-profile personalities to join the party.
From heroes to oppressors: Why Africans are falling out of love with liberation movements
African masses were much betrayed and disillusioned when liberation movements came into power as governing political parties AND became native colonialist movements that ruled their countries using the same coercion, electoral fraud, and violence that colonial regimes used, writes William Mpofu.
My F*k, Mzansi | Menace Ntshaveni, Pemmy what and dragon-lite Jones
A weekly satirical column by News24 journalists - for those times when you just have to go My F*k! This week Gayton, Ntshavheni and that Welsh guy grace the (dis)honour role.
