'Fired over false plot against Zuma'

MK party secretary general says he got the boot over a 'false intelligence report'

- Lunga Mzangwe

Former uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) secretary general Floyd Shivambu says he was fired from the position over a fake intelligence report accusing him of trying to overthrow its leader Jacob Zuma and of using witchcraft to murder people to take over the organisation.

Shivambu told journalists on Thursday that he had been accused of establishing party structures and branches with the intention of toppling Zuma.

"As a result, an extremely bizarre and fake intelligence report was produced which was claimed to be [about a conversation] between me and some people in Africa [to get money to overthrow Zuma]," he said.

"It alleged that, despite me raising money to remove president Zuma, I'm also accumulating supernatural powers to make people disappear.

"There was apparently a head which I was going to be given to give to someone and some people [would] die so that I can become president of the MK party."

Shivambu's future in the party has been uncertain after Zuma axed him as secretary general following an unsanctioned trip to Malawi in April to attend a church service led by self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri, a fugitive from South African justice since November 2020.

Earlier in the week, a source told the Mail & Guardian that Shivambu had been fired because he was allegedly trying to solicit funds from business people to finance the formation of his own political party.

"I'm not sure about his financial situation right now or whether it would even allow him to start a new party," the source said.

"Floyd is leaving, and I understand where he's coming from. What happened to him was painful.

"There's just too much gossip and toxicity in the party. I don't blame him for wanting to leave it's exhausting. There's no one who is safe here. If you want to survive, you have to play along, and that's just not sustainable."