Jacob Zuma has dissolved the MK Party’s Presidential Task Team, replaced it with a new Strategic Presidential Team, appointed his son Duduzane Zuma as first deputy president, and placed party finances under his personal control, according to official party statements and multiple local media reports on 10 August 2026. These changes make Zuma the central authority in the party, overruling previous structures and concentrating decision-making power in his office.

Leadership Restructuring And Family Appointment

The MK Party confirmed that Zuma dissolved the longstanding Presidential Task Team on 28 July 2026, installing what is now called the Strategic Presidential Team as the highest authority. The party’s constitution grants Zuma extensive powers, stating, “The president shall have the ultimate power to issue presidential decrees on any matter pertaining to operations, administration and policy direction of the party.”

On 10 August 2026, Zuma named his son Duduzane Zuma as the party’s first deputy president, further expanding the Zuma family’s role in party leadership. Since taking over leadership in April 2024 from Jabulani Khumalo, Zuma has regularly reshuffled key positions, including the appointment of Mpiyakhe Fanyana Limba as treasurer-general in March 2025. Party officials have been stripped of their previous authority over funds, which are now controlled directly by Zuma.

Internal Democracy And Governance Questions

Zuma openly defended his approach to party management during a recent address, saying, “I did say from the beginning that I do not want any people to be elected because it is a problem. But I left it because the comrades said, ‘Let’s do it’. Now the problem that I was trying to avoid is upon us. I wanted to do this alone and [be able to] say ‘you and you and you’, based on my knowledge of them…”

This style of leadership has prompted questions about systems of internal democracy within the MK Party and sparked debate among party members and political analysts. Zuma’s repeated leadership changes and financial centralisation have significantly altered party governance since 2024. Members and supporters now wait to see how these developments will affect party stability and cohesion in the months ahead.