Judgment has been reserved in the South Gauteng High Court in the explosive battle between the MK Party and two of its most high-profile former leaders, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and Nhlamulo Ndhlela, who are demanding to be reinstated after being booted for gross misconduct.
The pair were expelled in June, but now they dragged the party led by Jacob Zuma – Zuma-Sambudla’s own father – to court, arguing their expulsion was unlawful, unconstitutional and driven by a presidential decree that does not exist in the party’s constitution.
The court has now reserved judgment, leaving the fate of the two former MPs hanging in the balance.
At the heart of their challenge is the MK Party’s disciplinary process, or what they argue was the lack of it.
Speaking to Frica Daily on Tuesday, Ndhlela said the party president does not have unilateral powers to expel members without due process.
“Basically we are saying that the President doesn’t have the powers to expel membership of a member of the party without a member being subjected to due disciplinary processes as per the party’s Constitution. We argue that the application of the Presidential Decree to expel us is unconstitutional,” Ndhlela said.
He revealed that the party’s secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo could not produce the decree he claimed to rely on.
“By the way, the SG was unable to produce a signed Presidential Decree,” Ndhlela said.
The two are banking on precedent. Ndhlela pointed to a Western Cape High Court judgment that found the MK Party had acted unlawfully in similar expulsions.
“The Western Cape High Court also found in a similar matter that the MK Party expelled Kubukeli and Litchfield unprocedurally and reinstated their membership and back to their positions as MPs,” he said.
That ruling reinstated Kwenzokuhle Kubukeli and Andile Litchfield-Tshabalala after finding the party had flouted its own constitution.
Now Zuma-Sambudla and Ndhlela want the same relief – to have their membership restored and their top positions back. Ndhlela is also asking the court to reinstate him as a Member of Parliament.
The case has laid bare the deep dysfunction inside uMkhonto weSizwe, which has been consumed by infighting, purges and public brawls since its stunning performance in the 2024 general elections.
In June, when the party announced their expulsion, Nomvalo said the national officials had resolved that the two had acted in a manner “fundamentally inconsistent with the values, discipline, constitutional principles and organisational interests of the MK Party.”
The party accused them of using social media and conduct at party events to cause confusion and fuel divisions.
For months, Zuma-Sambudla’s incendiary posts on X and Ndhlela’s combative tenure as party spokesperson had placed them at the centre of controversy, with insiders accusing them of undermining collective leadership.
But in court papers, the duo argue that individuals close to party leader Jacob Zuma influenced the decision to dismiss them, turning a disciplinary matter into a political purge.
The pair claim they were targeted without being given a proper hearing as required by the party’s constitution.
The matter comes at a time when the MK Party has been bleeding leaders. Since its formation, it has seen a revolving door of secretaries-general, spokespersons and senior figures, many expelled or resigning amid accusations of ill-discipline, factionalism and authoritarian decision-making.