The uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s (MKP) Member of Parliament Mzwanele Manyi has been instructed to stop conducting unauthorised media interviews on behalf of the party following complaints that he had spoken to the media without the approval of its communications leadership.
In a letter dated 27 July seen by Africa Daily, the MKP’s spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu said the party’s newly established Strategic Presidential Team (SPT) had mandated him to raise concerns over Manyi’s recent media engagements, reminding him that only authorised officials may conduct interviews or comment publicly on behalf of the organisation.
“It has come to our attention that you have been conducting unauthorised interviews in the name of the MK Party without the knowledge of either the National Spokesperson or the Head of Communications,” Mahlangu wrote.
He said the party had also received written correspondence and complaints regarding Manyi’s media appearances and reminded him that no member may conduct interviews or comment to the media, including during doorstop interviews, without the express authorisation of either the National Spokesperson or the Head of Communications.
According to the letter, Head of Communications Sipho Tyira and National Spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu are the only officials authorised to assign or approve media interviews on behalf of the party.
The correspondence further states that, on parliamentary matters, only MK Party Parliamentary Leader Dr John Hlophe and the Chief Whip are authorised to issue or submit parliamentary statements to the Communications Department for dissemination to the media and the public.
“The National Spokesperson remains the official mouthpiece of the organisation. We therefore request that you desist from engaging with the media without the requisite authorisation and ensure that all future media engagements comply with the organisation’s established communication protocols,” Mahlangu wrote.
The directive comes just hours after former president and MK Party leader Jacob Zuma announced the establishment of the Strategic Presidential Team, replacing the Presidential Task Team (PTT) as the party’s highest decision-making body in what he described as a move to strengthen the organisation’s leadership, improve discipline and eliminate fragmentation in decision-making.
In a statement issued on Monday, Zuma said the Strategic Presidential Team had been established in terms of Section 72(h) of the MK Party Constitution and would assume all the powers, responsibilities and functions previously exercised by the Presidential Task Team.
He said the new structure would also take over the party’s secretariat, administration, financial governance and strategic management.
“The Strategic Presidential Team is hereby constituted as the highest decision-making and strategic leadership body of the organisation, vested with overarching authority to provide leadership, strategic direction, organisational coordination and oversight of the implementation of the Party’s political programme and constitutional mandate,” Zuma said.
He said the restructuring was intended to “strengthen the Party’s leadership architecture, consolidate strategic authority, eliminate fragmentation in decision-making and ensure disciplined, unified and effective execution of Party resolutions and programmes.”
Among its responsibilities, the Strategic Presidential Team has been tasked with providing long-term strategic direction, overseeing the implementation of party policies and resolution.
As well as a strengthening coordination across party structures, leading electoral strategy and voter mobilisation, overseeing administration and financial governance, and promoting unity, discipline and organisational cohesion.
Zuma expressed confidence that the new leadership structure, working together with the party’s national officials, would strengthen the MK Party’s leadership capacity and ensure the effective implementation of its political programme ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
In addition, he directed that all party communications be channelled through Mahlangu and calling on party leaders, Members of Parliament, public representatives and organisational structures to support the new leadership arrangement.
The instruction to Manyi who is also the spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation and previously served as the government’s spokesperson, marks one of the first public actions taken under the Strategic Presidential Team.
It signals the party’s intention to tighten internal communication protocols following Zuma’s leadership overhaul.