‘Dali Mpofu is always looking for next big opportunity’: Analyst says Mpofu’s shift to MK party unsurprising
South Africans are still engrossed in the tectonic shifts within the political arena, with legal eagle and veteran political activist Dali Mpofu being the latest high-profile member to dump the Julius Malema-led Economic Freedom Fighters.
IOL reported on Thursday that apart from joining the party led by former president Jacob Zuma, the advocate also revealed that he was part and parcel of the formation of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) political party, with Zuma. Mpofu said the plan was in the pipeline for over a year.
“Absolutely, for a few months as I say there was a time where it was just me and former President Zuma who knew about this,” Mpofu revealed in an exclusive interview with the SABC.
Mpofu has represented Zuma over the years in different court cases.
Reacting to Mpofu’s latest political move, political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng said the development was nothing surprising considering the close ties between the two men.
“I think it is not surprising at all if you have been watching politics and what has been happening in the political arena. It was very clear. I have always had questions around Dali Mpofu’s leadership in the EFF considering how close he was to Jacob Zuma, considering the fact that he has been defending Jacob Zuma in most of his cases,” Ngoasheng told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
“It’s not surprising that he is finally, officially joining him, and not just acting as his representative in the legal sense.”
Ngoasheng added with the revelation by Mpofu that he was at the heart of the formation of the fledgling political party, the legal eagle probably has big dreams to pursue in his new political home.
“It’s very clear that Dali Mpofu is the kind of person that is always looking for the next big opportunity. I am not surprised that as he was instrumental in putting together the EFF, there he was being instrumental in putting together the MK.
“You must remember that the MK party is shaping itself to be a political party of those who have been accused of various cases of corruption and those who, in a lot of ways, have been disgraced in South African politics. In particular, a lot of them were involved in state capture and those who were not in state capture were unceremoniously removed from their positions.”
Ngoasheng said the MK party is quickly becoming “a gathering of the discarded and the disgraced”.
Zuma officially launched his MK party in December 2023 in Soweto, Johannesburg. The party was registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in September, with the aim to contest the recent May 29 national and provincial elections.
IOL