SACP 'hypocrisy' slammed

EXPERT: PARTY EMBRACES ZUMA ON WAY UP IN POLOKWANE, SACRIFICES VANGUARD ROLE

- Eric Mthobeli Naki

• Communists reject former president and resolve to contest polls alone.

• 2026 is year for the next local government elections.

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has been criticised by an expert for rejecting Jacob Zuma, yet it embraced him in Polokwane and sacrificed its vanguard role to please him.

The party has resolved to contest the 2026 local government election separately, a move seen as a protest against the ANC decision to enter into a coalition with the DA, in particular, rejecting the idea of forming an alliance with Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe because of the belief that it is counter-revolutionary.

The decision was endorsed by the SACP 5th special national congress in Boksburg.

Heritage and political analyst Prof George Tsibani said the SACP's decision to join Zuma's campaign from 2005 to 2007 to become the ANC president marked a significant shift in the party's approach, leading to severe consequences.

"Instead of maintaining their role as vanguard strategists for the working class, they opted to become popularists, ultimately selling out the working-class struggle for more ministerial and MEC positions under the ANC umbrella," Tsibani said.