Advocate Sibonelo Nomvalo has been appointed the latest secretary-general of the MKP.
- Jacob Zuma has fired MK Party secretary-general Bongani Mncwango, barely seven months after his appointment, as the party announced a sweeping leadership reconfiguration.
- The MK Party has appointed advocate Sibonelo Nomvalo as its new secretary-general, making him the eighth person to hold the position since the party was formed in December 2023.
- The leadership shake-up comes as the MK Party reshuffles its provincial structures in KwaZulu-Natal, with new appointments aimed at preparing the party for the 2026 local government elections.
MK Party president Jacob Zuma has fired secretary-general (SG) Bongani Mncwango barely seven months after his appointment.
The MK Party announced a number of “reconfigurations” to its higher leadership echelons at a press briefing in uMhlanga, Durban on Thursday evening.
In August 2025, Mncwango, a former Sanlam executive, replaced Floyd Shivambu as the party’s seventh secretary-general since it was formed in December 2023.
In the MK Party’s latest dealings, including negotiations with parties in KwaZulu-Natal, Mncwango appeared to have taken a backseat, with the party’s deputy president Tony Yengeni driving those efforts and even courting the ANC for a joint bid to take over the province.
MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said: “The MK Party has announced a series of reconfigurations in its operational and leadership functions that are aimed at strengthening the party’s organisational management and will ensure electoral readiness.”
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The new appointments include the new secretary general, advocate Sibonelo Nomvalo, who has been hailed even by his opponents for his sharp political work in Parliament, particularly in the ad hoc committee investigating the underworld infiltration of the criminal justice system.
Nomvalo is the party’s eighth secretary-general.
Ndhlela said:
Comrade Nomvalo is tasked with serving as the centre of organisational management, ensuring smooth operations and maintaining the party’s structural integrity.
Simphiwe Mpungose has been appointed as the party’s provincial secretary.
The revival of the provincial secretary position is a departure from the task teams’ strategy of appointing coordinators and conveners in provinces.
Mpungose was appointed as a provincial organiser in what the party called a “detachment” unit, which operates similarly to the ANC’s task teams.
This appointment is likely to create two centres of power or, at the very least, see more changes in the province.
Ndhlela said Mpungose’s primary focus will be to “revitalise” the MK Party in the province and lead its “reorientation towards victory” in the 2026 local government elections.
Gobizizwe Makhanya has been appointed as the provincial organiser, while Tholakele Dlamini, a qualified industrial psychologist and human resources developer, has been appointed to lead the party’s electoral strategy as the head of elections.
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Dlamini replaces former DA mayor in Midvaal, Bongani Baloyi.
The MK Party, which has made unsubstantiated claims that the 2024 election was rigged, considers Dlamini to be an expert with “vast knowledge” of the Electoral Commission of SA.
Approached for comment on his status, Baloyi would only say: “The leadership will clarify soon.”
Ndhlela said: “The MK Party embraces these changes as moments of decisive alignment that should be interpreted within the party’s broader organisational and ideological architecture.”
He said the party has a “clearly defined strategic posture”.
“This realignment has been executed to ensure that the MK Party remains firmly rooted in the aspirations and struggles of the masses.”
The MKP is eyeing the collapse of the government of provincial unity in KwaZulu-Natal.
Though Zuma’s party is the largest in terms of voter base in the province, the party failed to forge a coalition government, losing out to the IFP-led coalition.
