Floyd Shivambu Resigns from EFF to Join MK Party
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) deputy president Floyd Shivambu has resigned from the EFF to join former president Jacob Zuma’s Mkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party).
Reading from his letter of resignation sent on Wednesday, Shivambu said he would not be renewing his EFF membership.
Shivambu said his decision to not renew his membership was not a vote of no confidence in the party.
“I request that I be released from all positions that I hold from the EFF. I will always cherish them and I wish them full prosperity and success and members of the EFF student command will accept the decision I have taken,” he said.
“I have decided to join the ranks of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and will be actively involved in shaping the politics of the country. There’s is no specific position that will be assigned to me, there is no promise of any deployment.”
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EFF leader Julius Malema likened Floyd Shivambu’s resignation to the death of his mother.
“To me is not just a comrade but a brother and he will remain a brother, even when he pursues his political career differently. We formed this organisation together… When he sent me a letter yesterday I felt the same pain when I received the news of the passing of my mother,” Malema said at a press briefing on Thursday.
He added that the EFF’s door would always be open for Shivambu.
“The constitution of the EFF does not allow an individual to resign and go to other political parties and come back to the party. But I have made this offer to Floyd, that the day he decides to come back, he is more than welcome. He is not an ordinary member, he is a founder,” he said.
Shivambu’s departure comes ahead of the EFF’s elective conference, which is scheduled for December, and where the party’s Secretary-General Marshall Dlamini was expected to challenge him for the No 2 post.
Floyd Shivambu Resigns from EFF to Join MK Party