Floyd Shivambu, once revered as the intellectual force behind the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), now finds himself politically adrift, having gambled away the credibility and influence he once wielded. His decision to leave the EFF, a party he co-founded with Julius Malema in 2013, was already puzzling to observers
But it is his short-lived tenure in the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) that has sealed what increasingly appears to be a miscalculated downfall.
Shivambu’s defection to the MKP, led by former President Jacob Zuma, was widely viewed as a strategic gamble aimed at repositioning himself within a new power structure. Appointed Secretary-General in March 2024, he entered a party still in its infancy, born out of Zuma’s populist charisma and a disillusionment with the ANC. However, his ascension was never smooth. Seen by many MK loyalists as a political outsider who parachuted into one of the party’s most powerful posts, Shivambu faced ongoing hostility from within. Longtime members accused him of bringing along the centralised and often authoritarian ethos of the EFF, clashing with MK’s more personality-driven and provincial power dynamics.
The final blow came on 18 May 2025, when the MKP officially removed Floyd Shivambu from the post of Secretary-General. The reason? A controversial and unsanctioned trip to Malawi to meet with self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri, a fugitive who fled South Africa while facing fraud and money laundering charges. The MKP’s leadership viewed the visit as a breach of protocol and a political liability. Shivambu had undertaken the journey without clearance, and his meeting with Bushiri, seen by many as a highly polarising figure, triggered outrage within the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
In a statement released shortly after the dismissal, the MKP confirmed that Shivambu had been “redeployed to Parliament,” a political euphemism often used to mask internal disciplinary action. It was a clear demotion, an indication that his authority within the party had collapsed.
Shivambu’s fall from grace is a sharp contrast to the reputation he once enjoyed. Known as a shrewd political operator, his early years in the EFF positioned him as the party’s policy architect and Malema’s closest ally. He was often credited with crafting the party’s economic messaging and speaking truth to power with sharp analytical clarity. That he could not foresee the risks of aligning with a fledgling, Zuma-centred party is both ironic and instructive. He underestimated how internal party loyalty, not intellectual heft, governs influence within MK Party.
Floyd Shivambu;s Gamble, Stumble and FALL
His attempt to rebrand himself within a new movement has ended in estrangement and embarrassment. Even more damaging is the perception that he has abandoned the very ideals—anti-corruption, institutional accountability, and revolutionary discipline, that he once championed in the EFF. The meeting with Bushiri, a man whose credibility is under question in both South Africa and Malawi, only intensified the impression that Shivambu’s political compass has been compromised.
And now, one can’t help but ask: Is this karma for betraying Julius Malema and the EFF? Shivambu’s departure from the party he helped build was seen as a rupture of brotherhood and ideology. Once inseparable political partners, Malema and Shivambu embodied the fierce defiance of youth-led opposition. His defection, viewed by many as opportunistic, may now be returning to haunt him in poetic fashion.
What does this mean for Shivambu’s future? The 2027 general elections may well determine whether he has any political capital left. While his parliamentary redeployment keeps him visible, it is also a stark reminder that his clout has diminished. Once seen as a potential future leader in South African politics, he now faces the prospect of irrelevance, unless he can stage yet another reinvention, one grounded in credibility rather than proximity to power.
Floyd Shivambu’s journey from co-founding one of South Africa’s most vocal opposition parties to being fired for an unauthorised meeting with a fugitive prophet is a cautionary tale. In politics, as in chess, strategy matters. But when the moves are based on opportunism rather than principle, even the sharpest tacticians stumble—and sometimes fall.
