Zondo dumped fading ANC for MKP as it offered chance 'to grow'

Embattled leader of the Rivers of Living Waters Ministries, Bishop Stephen Zondo, has revealed why he dumped the ANC for former president Jacob Zuma’s nascent MK Party.

- By Mawande AmaShabalala

After quietly deserting the ANC last year and remaining mum about the rationale behind his decision to jettison the party of Nelson Mandela, Zondo finally broke his silence this week.

He revealed during a wide-ranging interview with Sunday World Engage that he kicked Africa’s oldest liberation movement to the curb because it has reached a cul-de-sac with no new ideas to take South Africa forward.

Zondo, who is on trial for multiple cases of rape (see the story below), said it was Zuma’s speeches ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections that persuaded him to join the fledging party.

Zondo said he was sold by MKP’s policies on education, particularly on how, under an MKP government, there will be no children of school-going age loitering the streets.

The MKP’s proposed military conscription for all teenagers after they finished matric was the cherry on top that convinced Zondo to cut his umbilical cord with the ANC and choose the MKP as his new political home.

Although Zondo didn't play an active role in the ANC, he says he is now an active member in the MKP to ensure that the party achieves its ambitious majority to govern South Africa.