Following a week of suspense and speculation about the future of the former Secretary General of Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP), Floyd Shibambu made a tumultuous u-turn. On Thursday, 19 June 2025, Shivambu announced in a press conference that he would be embarking on a consultative journey with a variety of stakeholders to explore the idea of starting a new political party. 

This comes against the backdrop of a due expectation that he would be joining the parliamentary caucus of the MKP, as per instructions of the organisation. A few observations have to be made to understand Shibambu’s political trajectory and its timing thereof. The following points of analysis can shed some light and assist in connecting the dots, as it were. 

Scholarly Background 

In the computing world, a Trojan Horse is defined as a program designed to breach the system while purported to be performing some innocuous function. According to the online dictionary based on Definitions From Oxford Languages, in Greek Mythology, a Trojan Horse is defined as a (mythical) hollow wooden horse statue, in which the Greeks are said to have concealed themselves in order to reach Troy, their war destination. 

The same dictionary provides a general definition of a Trojan Horse as ‘a person or thing intended to undermine or secretly overthrow an enemy or opponent’. Shivambu’s current political posture and moves can fit all three definitions as per the Oxford Dictionary. Nonetheless, it would be important to look into the different aspects and implications of his most recent political move. 

The Art of War Tactics 

From the past few months of the former MKP Secretary General at the helm, to the current trajectory, a common pattern in his trail of events points to the most famous principles of SunTsu’s popular book, ‘The Art of War’. This could be an indication that Shivambu must have been on a silent warpath without anyone noticing. Of course, this thought could be part of a broader frame of speculation, that only a few could have shared when the former SG joined the MKP Party in August 2024. 

This notion can be strongly supported by the narrative that when Shivambu left the Red Berets to join the MKP, he didn’t have a scrupulous intent to serve the party without a bigger personal or hostile interest, which could later be detrimental to the organization.

Studying and Knowing The Enemy 

In the press conference of Thursday, 19 June 2025, Shivambu repeatedly emphasized how he had to learn so much from the MKP in a short space of time. This statement was accompanied by his reaffirmation that joining the MKP was the greatest decision ever, which sounds like a reference to learning more about the organisation than learning about politics in general.

After all, Shivambu has worked under the leadership of former President Jacob Zuma while in the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) more than a decade ago. This could have given him the best chance to genuinely learn the politics of President Zuma. His recent statement comes across as sarcastic to someone who has followed the political developments in recent years of South African politics. 

It makes one to even question what could have been the genuine interest of the former SG to join the MKP in the first place. This becomes even suspicious, considering all the despicable attacks they have led against the MKP President, while Shivambu was with the Red Berets for more than ten years. The question is, what if this was the best decision that Shivambu ever made, simply because it gave him an inside view of what the MK Party is all about, including its internal dynamics, expansion strategies, foreign policy, and approach to government?

For any political opponent, this could have been a golden opportunity to dine and dance with the enemy, learning all their tricks of the trade that one could exploit, to advance their own strategies as they contemplate a new political formation. The establishment of a new political party, by the way, doesn’t seem like a random thought that only came in the recent past. It does look as though Shivambu is following a well crafted script with a particular end in sight. 

Confusing the Enemy With Deception and Manipulation 

The famous Principle in Sun Tsu’s The Art of War is that of confusing the enemy. Indeed all warfare is based on deception, as Sun Tsu would say. This is why Shivambu could step one foot out of the organisation and still say that he would not be resigning. This came as he boasted that he was still a member of the MK Party despite his decision to trash the organisation in public. This of source, will confuse many, as he continues to adopt a posture of an outsider while he holds on to the organisation’s membership. This would seem like the former SG wants to gauge levels of his own following from within the MK Party before he can break free. 

This is blatantly meant to buy time while assessing how much of the MKP membership would back his move and support his newly revealed ambitions. In the meantime, this has a potentially divisive impact to the party based on sympathy and support, while one side is more concerned with how the organization moves forward without being tied up to individual decisions of the former SG. Shivambu went ahead and made public revelations of new information about the purported reasons for his redeployment. This comes after the MKP officials withheld details and concluded that the matter was closed. 

His stunt in this regard seems like a cry for public sympathy and trust, so that he controls the narrative and stays ahead of the enemy. Again this is an act of deception, since he was part of the collective that unanimously concluded that the matter was closed and would not be discussed further. Exploiting Zuma’s Charisma and Goodwill of the MKP brand, Shibambu’s move shows that the former SG is fully cognizant of the fact that he might not have the necessary support in numbers to form a party right away. 

However, he is willing to ruffle the feathers and instigate divisions enough to create a solid faction that would sympathize with him. This is why he would continue riding on the wave of the charisma and powerful stature of the MKP President, plus the goodwill of the MKP brand. This is based on innuendos in his speech attempting to speak good of President Zuma, while throwing some shade on comrades around him. Some may argue that Shivambu does not appear to have charisma, popularity, political flair and appeal to the masses to back his political ambitions. 

President Zuma has always put him under his wing ever since he joined the MKP. He trusted and endorsed him as a political scientist that could be entrusted with the responsibility to take the organisation forward. The support and respect he enjoyed from MK Party members was not necessarily owed to him personally, but it appears to have been the support and respect that members and supporters of the MKP have for the party’s President, who introduced Shivambu to the organisation.

Similary, when he served closely to Julius Malema, members and supporters of the EFF gave him love and respect because he was a trusted close ally of CIC Malema. He doesn’t come across as someone who could pull the crowds and lead a tough political contestation on his own.

Putting MKP Into Disrepute 

Shivambu’s statement about President Zuma being surrounded by political scoundrels may be enough to put the organisation into disrepute. Nonetheless, his continuous discussion of the parties internal dynamics on a public platform must have been a deliberate act to paint a bleak picture of the official opposition. This could only be an act of the enemy, not a loyal member of the organisation. It’s not helping that he continued to make innuendos suggesting that there could be good reasons to have the party de-registered by the IEC. 

The unfolding of the entire event appears as though a meticulously crafted script is being followed, with a clear intention to put the organization into disrepute. Indeed, it would make sense for someone who is contemplating a new political formation, to start neutralizing their future opponent in advance. In a nutshell, Shivambu is just rocking the boat to create panic, chaos and despair, in order to break the organisation and leave a weaker official opposition, for someone else to pick up the pieces. A million dollar question will be, whose script is Shivambu following? Surely, this question will be answered once South Africa gets to know the sponsors of the former SG’s mysterious project. 

Conclusion 

It doesn’t matter what Shivambu might say or do in the near future, the battle lines are drawn between himself and the MK Party. His declaration of interest to form a political party while serving as a member of the MKP spells nothing but a bold and arrogant effort to undermine the party, its integrity and reputation. The former SG’s posture and recent move seem determined to dismantle and put the MK party into disarray, pending his eventual exit, whether or not he continues with his project of a new political formation.

Sifiso Mkhize is an independent political analyst and researcher on political and socio-economic issues.