Former MK Party national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela has been fired as both spokesperson and Member of Parliament and had his party membership suspended on the direct orders of Jacob Zuma following a power struggle over the MK Institute. Photo: Gallo Images
Former MK Party national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela has been fired as both spokesperson and Member of Parliament and had his party membership suspended within 24 hours after a controversial MK Institute statement he co-presented was declared null and void by the party’s national leadership. Jacob Zuma personally ordered the suspension. Ndhlela has been given seven days to return all party property.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has moved swiftly and decisively against one of its most recognisable public faces after former national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela became embroiled in a power struggle that threatened to fundamentally alter the party’s leadership architecture. In a dramatic sequence of events spanning just 72 hours, Ndhlela was stripped of his spokesperson role, removed as a Member of Parliament and had his party membership suspended all on the direct orders of party president Jacob Zuma.
How It All Unfolded
The crisis began on Friday 16 May 2026 when Ndhlela and senior MK Party member Oupa Mathebula presented a statement at the party’s launch of the MK Institute in uMhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal. The statement declared that the newly established MK Institute would assume full responsibility for the political management and administration of the entire MK Party, with all leadership structures reporting directly to it. The institute, politically led by MK Party Deputy President Dr Mandlakayise John Hlophe, was presented as the central strategic, ideological and administrative authority of the movement.
The pronouncements were explosive. If accepted, they would have fundamentally restructured the MK Party’s power architecture, effectively subordinating the existing national leadership to the institute. The party’s secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo moved quickly to contain the damage.
On Monday 18 May 2026, following a meeting led by Jacob Zuma himself, the party’s national officials issued a statement declaring the MK Institute’s 16 May pronouncements null and void. “The media statement does not reflect the views and decisions of the national leadership of uMkhonto weSizwe Party,” Nomvalo said. The party confirmed that the institute would be integrated into the broader organisational policy-making machinery reporting to the secretary-general, the precise opposite of what Ndhlela and Mathebula had announced.
At the same briefing, Nomvalo confirmed that Ndhlela had been removed as national spokesperson and as a Member of Parliament with immediate effect. Former Star editor Sifiso Mahlangu was appointed as the new national spokesperson. Nomvalo thanked Ndhlela for his service while making clear the decision was immediate and final.
Zuma Orders Suspension
The removal was followed within hours by an even more severe consequence. On Tuesday 19 May 2026 a letter signed by MK Party National Chairperson Nkosinathi Nhleko was sent to Ndhlela informing him that party president Jacob Zuma had personally taken the decision to suspend his party membership with immediate effect pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
“This decision follows serious allegations relating to misconduct, sowing division within the organisation, and conduct that has brought the party into disrepute,” newly appointed MK Party spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu confirmed.
Ndhlela was instructed to immediately stop using party resources including bank accounts, social media platforms and official communication channels. He was given seven days to return all party property including laptops, documents, passwords, access credentials and his membership card. Pending the investigation’s outcome, he was ordered to refrain from representing the party in any official capacity.
A Pattern of Disciplinary Issues
Ndhlela’s suspension is not his first brush with internal MK Party discipline. In June 2025 MK Party Deputy President John Hlophe issued a letter removing him from the party’s parliamentary whip team, citing disrespectful communication, repeated instances of rude and dismissive behaviour toward parliamentary members including senior leadership, undermining party unity, engaging in factional activities and using insulting language. He had survived that earlier action only to find himself now facing full suspension.
What the MK Institute Controversy Reveals
Political analyst Mpumelelo Phungula described the suspension as a clear attempt by the MK Party leadership to consolidate authority around Zuma and prevent factional disputes from spilling further into the public domain ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
“The MK Party has rapidly grown into a major political force, but with that growth comes internal contestation over influence, messaging and leadership positioning. Suspending a senior figure like Ndhlela sends a strong message that dissent or perceived disloyalty will not be tolerated,” Phungula said.
The sequence of events raises significant questions about the nature of the power struggle within the MK Party. The MK Institute had been presented publicly as a legitimate new structure of the party, launched at an official party event in the presence of the president himself. Yet the party subsequently claimed that Zuma and the national officials were not fully aware of the entirety of the statement until it was made public. That version of events has been received with scepticism by political observers who note that the institute’s launch was a formal, public, pre-planned event.
Social media commentary has also drawn attention to reports that Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has been warned that she too faces suspension if she continues to stoke internal fires on social media in defiance of her father’s decisions, a suggestion that the factional tensions within the MK Party extend beyond Ndhlela alone.
Ndhlela Responds
Ndhlela took to social media on Tuesday evening to congratulate his replacement Sifiso Mahlangu on his appointment. “Congratulations and welcome to you my brother, you were there from the beginning in 2023, and as per our call last night we reflected on the role you played when MK Party was announced. There couldn’t have been a better person to take over this responsibility than you,” Ndhlela wrote on X. The measured public response stood in contrast to the severity of the party’s action against him.
Ndhlela had not issued a public statement addressing the substance of the suspension allegations at the time of publication.
What Happens Next
Ndhlela faces a formal internal investigation, the outcome of which will determine whether his membership is permanently revoked or reinstated. His removal as a Member of Parliament means he has already lost his parliamentary seat, a significant consequence given the platform and resources that come with parliamentary membership.
The MK Party faces the task of managing what political analysts describe as deepening internal divisions at a critical moment with the 2026 local government elections fast approaching and the party seeking to consolidate and build on its remarkable debut performance in the 2024 national elections.
Editors Note Nhlamulo Ndhlela is presumed innocent of any wrongdoing until the outcome of the MK Party’s internal investigation is concluded. All allegations referenced in this article are sourced from official MK Party statements and have not been independently verified. Mzansi Today Live will update this article as further information becomes available.