'We're not Zuma's mouthpiece', says new party, even though it admits to consulting with him several times
16 October 2018
The Mazibuye African Congress (MAC) claims it is not a mouthpiece for former president Jacob Zuma and hasn't spoken to him since establishing itself as a political party in July. It is, however, still in touch with people close to him, the party said.
The newly formed political party's president Reggie Ngcobo said after approaching former presidents, among them FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki, Zuma was the only former leader interested in hearing the organisation's views.
Ngcobo said the party had not met with Zuma since a July rally during which supporters decided that the organisation could not remain a civic movement "addressing political ills outside of the political space".
"We had three or more meetings with the former president to get his input as far as the ills that we identified in the country. [He] gave his own personal input but didn't ask us to become a political party," said Ngcobo.