Over a week after announcing her resignation from the Economic Freedom Fighters, former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has joined the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), along with former KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu.

Making the announcement at a media briefing on Friday, MKP secretary-general Sifiso Maseko revealed that Mkhwebane would take up the role of convenor in Mpumalanga, and Mchunu would take up the same role in the party’s stronghold, in KwaZulu-Natal.

Mkwebane announced her resignation from the red berets a year after joining the party, she said, to spend time with her family.

Now, she will lead the MKP, the second biggest party in Mpumalanga, as it seeks to appoint leadership structures at provincial and regional levels.

“Advocate Mkhwebane is a seasoned public servant and a true fighter for justice and equal rights. She is the former public protector who was unlawfully removed from office for confronting the status quo and asking necessary and relevant questions to the sitting head of State. Advocate Mkhwebane’s consistency, composure and professionalism will guide the province of Mpumalanga into absolute stability and progress,” Maseko said.

Meanwhile, Mchunu, will identify leaders for the MKP in KwaZulu-Natal, with Maseko stating that all current MKP leadership structures will “cease to exist” with the former premier’s appointment.

“He will play a leading role in reversing the devastating effects of the right-wing government of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Inkatha Freedom Party. KwaZulu-Natal deserves a progressive government of forces that are not associated with apartheid,” Maseko said.

He added that Mchunu had the “necessary political ideology and organisational capability” to steer the party into a “stable, responsible and responsive movement in the province”.

Maseko stressed the importance of the KwaZulu-Natal province, which the MKP clinched from the ANC in the 2024 national and provincial elections.

“KZN is important to the party because we will in the foreseeable future constitute a government in the province,” Maseko stated.

He asserted the MKP’s opposition to the Government of National Unity (GNU), taking shots at the DA, in particular.

“We as MKP stand opposed to the so-called GNU. We reiterate our statement that this neo-liberal commission spearheaded by the DA and sustained through an alliance with apartheid-era beneficiaries symbolises a betrayal of the working class and the people of South Africa. It is time for all progressive forces to come together and resist the neo-liberal agenda. We are led by a president that is a chess master. We need to appreciate that,” Maseko said.

He pointed to the growth in MKP’s support since it launched in December 2023 and attributed it to “disillusioned patriotic South Africans”.

“Most South Africans are still reeling from the trauma caused by them by the brutal apartheid system engineered by those who are currently in alliance with the ruling party, within the GNU. MKP is the only party that is consistently on the side of the people,” Maseko stated.