Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

13 January 2026

2-minute read

Jacob Zuma’s MK Party is seeing yet another change in its leadership.

According to political analyst Kim Heller, there is a “lot of mystery and in-fighting” behind the removal of Coleen Makhubele as the party’s chief whip, despite her doing a “very good job.” Although she will retain her position as a member of parliament, unconfirmed allegations abound as to her being tied to Zionists not aligned with the party.

Treasurer General Mpiyakhe Limba was also removed and replaced by Brian Molefe, who Kim says has the acumen and necessary skills to do the job despite being “very badly positioned by the media”.

From a local governance perspective, the Party’s leadership of KZN is “very upsetting” and problematic due to a high level of uncertainty, with the constant changes becoming “routine rather than corrective.”

There are efforts in the party to move away from ethnocentricity, with a concentration and a “very bold footprint” focusing on its strongholds in KZN and Gauteng instead of spreading themselves out to other provinces.

Dominating headlines of these political parties with the upcoming elections, Kim feels that there will be “a lot more friction” with KZN being a particular area of close contestation due to the MK’s leadership fragmentation and lacklustre performance as the official poor opposition.

With allegations of money going missing, the MK Party need to solidify and build on the current leadership.