Ten Axed MK Party MPs Sue Party for Loss of Earnings, Want Party's Bank Accounts Frozen

They also want a personal bank account of party president Jacob Zuma to be blocked claiming they paid a portion of their earnings into it. 

Thamsanqa Khuzwayo (centre), the spokesperson for a group of axed MK Party members, explained at a briefing in Cape Town on 22 August 2024 why they approached the court to challenge their loss of membership. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/EWN

CAPE TOWN - Ten former uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party Parliamentarians are headed back to court in an attempt to freeze the party’s bank accounts to sue for loss of earnings.

They also want the personal bank account of party president Jacob Zuma to be blocked claiming they paid a portion of their earnings into it.

The group is still in the process of appealing a Western Cape High Court judgment in September, dismissing an application for an interdict to prevent replacements from being sworn in.

Some of their seats have subsequently been filled by former heads of parastatals implicated in state capture.

The axed MK Members of Parliament (MPs) say they resigned their jobs to take up seats in Parliament, earning a monthly salary of R102,000.

They were part of a group of 18 MPs dismissed by the party in August.

The ten applicants said they were the breadwinners of their families and supported several dependants when they were forced out of their political jobs and parliamentary accommodation.

They allege in court papers filed with the Gauteng High Court that they paid R10,000 each into Zuma’s personal banking account, held at Capitec Bank.

They said this was a sign of loyalty and on the premise that he would use the funds for the effective running of the party.

The MK Party told the Western Cape High Court during the interdict application hearing in August that the group’s membership was questionable - and many of them were not even known to Zuma.

The applicants further argue the public funds they collected when they campaigned for the party, and the portion of their salaries they donated, have not been used in the manner for which it was intended.

They said Zuma’s decision to terminate their party membership and withdraw them from parliament, has left them destitute.

The applicants said there’s no other route to pursue but to block Zuma and the party’s Standard Bank accounts so that damages can be claimed.

A review of their dismissal is yet to be heard in the Western Cape High Court.