Turmoil in Shivambu&#x2019s party as he axes disgruntled deputy after secret Zuma meeting

Nolubabalo Mcinga has been outsted as Afrika Mayibuye Movement deputy president.

X/@NP_Mcinga

Floyd Shivambu has had a dramatic year in politics.Last year,he caught the country by surprise when he ditched the EFF,which he co-founded,for the MKP,where he was later ousted.Now,he’s claimed a scalp of his own in his own party,Afrika Mayibuye,where he has fired his deputy president.

Afrika Mayibuye leader Floyd Shivambu,who has joined his third political party in less than a year,has fired his second-in-command,Nolubabalo Mcinga,as the party’s deputy president.

This is after she allegedly met Shivambu’s former boss in the MK Party,Jacob Zuma,in a meeting she was not mandated for.

Shivambu and Mcinga had formed a close political relationship from their time in the EFF,then later in the MK Party,before the two decided to establish their own organisation this year.

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No sooner had they wrapped up their consultative process to establish a party than they began to have differences,seemingly over money and,as Shivambu’s statement shows,decision-making.

After News24 approached Mcinga for comments last week amid murmurs she was disgruntled about her standing in the party,she started posting on X,where she confirmed trouble was brewing in paradise.

READ | Floyd’s Mayibuye manifesto: The white question,‘total political freedom’,theocracy

Although she has been removed from her position,her membership has been retained,Shivambu said.

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In a statement on Friday,Mayibuye said Mcinga has been charged for “organisational and political misconduct” in that she met Zuma without a mandate; met former MKP leader Mary Phadi in Mpumalanga without a mandate; canvassed members to form a splinter organisation; disparaged Mayibuye leaders in a voicenote; disclosed party discussions; and “inflated” and allegedly falsified accommodation and logistical costs for engagements with traditional leaders during the organisation’s Eastern Cape programme.

The party claimed that when Mcinga was allowed to respond,she started “disparaging” the organisation publicly.

The party also denied promising Mcinga a salary,accommodation and VIP protection.

Mayibuye is not an employment agency; it is a people-funded movement,born of extensive consultation,to address urgent social needs.

However,in her own statement,following her removal,Mcinga said she shouldn’t be condemned for meeting Zuma.

She also revealed that she holds a dual membership of the MKP and Mayibuye.

When Shivambu formed Mayibuye,he stated that he would “never” leave the MKP. However,he was fired shortly thereafter.

Now,Mcinga is taking the Zuma and Shivambu route. She claims she holds dual membership to the MKP and Mayibuye.

Zuma had also said that he holds dual membership in the MKP and the ANC after forming his party.

In response to her ousting from the deputy president position,Mcinga said: “I remain a proud member of both the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and the Afrika Mayibuye Movement. I cannot be condemned for meeting uBaba,[former] president Jacob Zuma”.

She posted both her political parties’ membership cards.

She said the meeting with Zuma was “personal” and unrelated to Afrika Mayibuye.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE TERMINATION OF THE FIRST DEPUTY PRESIDENT.

Leadership is a responsibility,not a privilege. The National Officials have terminated the Deputy President’s designation with immediate effect — reaffirming our commitment to integrity,discipline,and the… pic.twitter.com/PWEvtEuzqD

— AFRIKA Mayibuye (@mayibuye_afrika) October 24,2025

She said she’s the one who informed Shivambu and other leaders about it.

She said she also met with Phadi to advance the unity agenda between progressive parties.

“No spying or organisational misrepresentation took place,” Mcinga said.

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She also said it was Shivambu who had offered her the perks of VIP protection,accommodation,and a salary.

She said her ouster didn’t follow the correct procedures,including the failure to produce a charge sheet.

She said the politics inside Mayibuye are “suppressive and controlling”.

“If everyone must see through the eye of one man,where will the next Chris Hani,Steve Biko,Julius Malema,Winnie Madikizela-Mandela,Charlotte Maxeke,Albertina Sisulu,or other freedom fighters come from?”

I respond with truth & courage. I acknowledge the statement of the Afrika Mayibuye Movement & release my official response. I remain a proud member of both the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and the Afrika Mayibuye Movement. I cannot be condemned for meeting uBaba,President Jacob Zuma. pic.twitter.com/nAWY8KeVDJ

— Nolubabalo Mcinga (@NP_Mcinga) October 24,2025

Ironically,this charge against Shivambu’s leadership style echoes his own view of how EFF president Julius Malema ran his organisation,leading to Shivambu’s resignation.

In a post on X,Shivambu said when they announced the Mayibuye Consultation Process on 19 June,they vowed to “never sacrifice principle on the altar of political convenience”.

“There’s no one who will destabilise the People’s Mandate,the only organisation founded by an overwhelming mandate of the people of South Africa,” Shivambu said on the social media post.