Former African National Congress heavyweight Tony Yengeni joined the uMkhonto weSizwe Party as its second deputy president on Thursday, marking a significant defection from South Africa’s ruling party.
Party leader Jacob Zuma announced the appointment at a media briefing in Durban, saying the move strengthens the party’s leadership structure while deputy president John Hlophe focuses on parliamentary and legal matters.
“We are strengthening the work of our party because we are looking forward,” Zuma told reporters. “We have decided to have one of our cadres that we have been with for years.”
The 71-year-old Yengeni served on the ANC’s National Executive Committee from 1994 to 2022 and was the party’s chief whip in parliament from 1998 to 2001. He resigned from parliament in 2003 following a fraud conviction related to the Arms Deal investigation.
Speaking at the briefing, Yengeni praised Zuma’s commitment to economic freedom, noting they forged a bond in exile that continues today. “We have leaders who love themselves more than they love the people and the country, but Jacob Zuma is different,” he said.
The appointment comes after months of tension between Yengeni and ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula. In January, Mbalula initiated disciplinary charges against Yengeni for bringing the party into disrepute through social media posts supporting the MK Party.
Mbalula described Yengeni as a “political Casanova” who “thinks he is a law unto himself” and was “spewing vagrant political views that are embraced by a few malcontents who are opposed to the ANC.”
Yengeni represented Zuma during his ANC disciplinary hearings in 2024 before the former president was expelled for backing the MK Party. The party won 58 parliamentary seats in the May 2024 elections, becoming the third-largest party in parliament.
The MK Party said the second deputy president position was created to handle internal organizational matters while Hlophe manages parliamentary duties. The party stated Zuma’s frequent international trips necessitated additional leadership support.
Yengeni joined the ANC in 1976 and spent years in exile with the party’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. He was detained from 1987 to 1991 on terrorism charges before being indemnified during negotiations to end apartheid.
His political career was marked by controversy after he received a luxury vehicle from a defense contractor while serving as chairperson of parliament’s defense committee. He served four months of a four-year prison sentence in 2006.
The defection represents a significant loss for the ANC, which saw its electoral support drop below 50 percent for the first time in the 2024 elections. The party now governs in a coalition after losing its parliamentary majority.
