The MK Party (MKP) is once again in turmoil after its president, Jacob Zuma, summarily suspended the party’s deputy president and caucus leader, Dr John Hlophe, late on Wednesday night.
The decision, announced in a late-night statement from the MKP presidency, follows reports that Hlophe had made changes within the party’s parliamentary structure without consulting Zuma or the rest of the leadership collective.
According to MKP spokesperson Magasela Mzobe, Zuma had just returned from a diplomatic trip to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where he met with junta leader Ibrahim Traoré, when he was briefed on the unauthorised changes in Parliament.
“The president has taken a decision to issue a precautionary suspension to the party’s deputy president and leader of the MKP Parliament caucus, Dr John Hlophe, from both his leadership roles with immediate effect, pending a full investigation on his conduct,” said Mzobe .
The move came less than 24 hours after the removal of MKP chief whip Colleen Makhubele was announced, a decision Zuma has now reversed.
Hlophe had reportedly replaced Makhubele with former finance minister Des van Rooyen, a decision Zuma said was taken “without collective consultation” and therefore “nullified.”
Mzobe added that the suspension was necessary to restore order within the party and reinforce its culture of discipline.
“This decision is meant to affirm and send a strong message about the principle of collective leadership across all structures within the uMkhonto weSizwe Party,” he said.
Hlophe, a former Western Cape Judge President, has long been a controversial figure in South African politics. Earlier this year, he made headlines after securing a seat on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) as MK’s representative, despite being one of only two judges ever impeached in democratic South Africa.
His impeachment stemmed from a 2008 scandal in which he was accused of trying to influence Constitutional Court judges in a case involving Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thales.
