All eyes on Ndlozi as Malema cleans house

Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, touted as a contender for the EFF secretary-general post, could be next in line to desert the party following the defections of high-profile members Dali Mpofu and Floyd Shivambu to the MK Party.

Insiders say Ndlozi — who was recruited to the EFF by Shivambu, Julius Malema’s former deputy — is likely to leave the party after its elective “people’s assembly” conference next month, despite his loyalists backing him to fill the post vacated by Shivambu.

Ndlozi enjoys significant support within the EFF and one insider said he is a potential threat to Malema thanks to his charisma and his ability to articulate party resolutions and policies.

Two MK Party insiders said party leaders had already made attempts to lure Ndlozi, but he is said to be wary of joining a party led by Jacob Zuma. The insiders said party leaders including Zuma, Magasela Mzobe and Mpofu had met Ndlozi in Johannesburg last month to woo him.

“There is hope that he can join after the EFF elections. The leadership is hoping to announce him as a member when the party celebrates its birthday on December 16. He has not made any commitments yet, but the leadership is talking to him,” one insider said.

Ndlozi had not responded to requests for comment by the time of going to press. MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said he was not aware of the meeting last month. 

Malema is said to be closely vetting leadership candidates ahead of the EFF’s national people’s assembly next month. Insiders close to him told the Sunday Times Malema is weeding out Shivambu recruits who he does not trust.

Malema backers believe they have convinced provincial party structures to support Godrich Gardee as Shivambu’s replacement. Gardee declined to comment when approached by the Sunday Times.

Gardee was the party’s first secretary-general after its launch in 2013. He failed to get Malema’s backing to retain the position in 2019, when Marshall Dlamini — a Shivambu recruit and the current incumbent — replaced him.

While Dlamini is likely to retain his post next month, two other Shivambu recruits — chair Veronica Mente and deputy secretary-general Poppy Mailola — have been left off Malema’s slate. 

Malema has chosen MP Nontando Nolutshungu to take up the chair position while Leigh-Ann Mathys is likely to take over as the deputy secretary-general.

I don’t think anyone can expect him to stay with the same people after what has happened with Floyd. He needs people he can trust around him

—  EFF insider

Mathys was appointed after Magdalene Moonsamy resigned in 2015 . In 2019 she was elected as an additional member of the central command team, the party’s highest decision-making structure between conferences. 

Another Malema ally, treasurer-general Omphile Maotwe, will likely retain her position, insiders said. 

“A lot of people think the CiC [commander-in-chief] chose the leadership in 2019, that is far from the truth,” one party insider said. “He was lobbied like everyone else, and he was convinced by Floyd to support a slate of people he had identified. I don’t think anyone can expect him to stay with the same people after what has happened with Floyd. He needs people he can trust around him. Leigh-Ann and Godrich are people he knows are loyal to him and the EFF.”

Insiders said Malema was likely to take for himself powers that had been assigned to Shivambu, including deployment of party officials at government level. 

The recent high-profile defections to the MK Party follow a disappointing showing for the EFF in the May elections.

In KwaZulu-Natal, where Zuma’s new party made dramatic inroads, support for the EFF plunged to 2.56%, compared with 9.96% in 2019. In its discussion document for the elective conference, the EFF said its response to the election result should not be “vested in the tranquillising drug of gradualism”.

The party said it faced the same challenges now as it did at the time of its second people’s assembly in 2019, having failed to properly establish itself in all corners of South Africa with branches and activists who understood and were passionate about its mission

“Many branches do not have programmes of action and do not meet regularly to decide on the work that must be pursued to win over the masses to the struggle for economic freedom. The EFF CCT committees are not fully functional, and despite being assigned to specific tasks, most commissars do not do anything in relation to their CCT portfolios.

“A substantial number of the EFF leaders, mostly those deployed in positions of responsibility are not loyal to the organisation, but loyal to their positions of deployment,” the discussion document stated. 

The party had not built adequate capacity to win municipal ward-based elections, and challenges included a leadership that cannot articulate the EFF vision and standpoint with clarity.

“A lot of branches do not meet consistently and do not lead community struggles. The EFF is still not present in many of the voting districts in South Africa. Most regional structures are directionless, and do not have the necessary impact expected from EFF structures. Provincial leaders don’t know the length and breadth of their provinces, and PCTs [provincial command teams] do not meet from time to time as is expected of them.” 

The discussion document acknowledged the party had not yet attained the “organisational maturity necessary to carry additional organisations such as trade unions, women and youth wings, which are mandated by the constitution”.

But two goals had been partly achieved: “First, we now have a national head office that we own and have proudly named after Mama Winnie Madikizela Mandela. Second, we have a membership system, which in its current form can still be improved.”