Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, a prominent figure in South African politics, has announced his resignation from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) after more than a decade of membership, signalling his departure from party politics altogether. The announcement, made during an interview with the SABC on Sunday night, puts an end to months of speculation surrounding his standing within the Red Berets.
“I have handed over my resignation. I have left the EFF, I have left party politics,” Ndlozi confirmed, explaining that his future contributions would be made outside the realm of party affiliation. “I have handed in my resignation as a member, and it is because where I want to go and contribute, I can’t hold a single-party membership.”
Ndlozi’s move follows a turbulent period within the EFF and comes after several other high-profile members, including former deputy leader Floyd Shivambu, former national chairperson Dali Mpofu, former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, and former government spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi, defected to Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
In January, Ndlozi resigned as an MP after losing his position in the EFF’s central command team during the party’s national elective conference in December.
In the SABC interview, Ndlozi revealed that he had been suspended from the EFF six weeks prior to the party’s National People’s Assembly (NPA) in December. “I couldn’t attend the EFF conference, the NPA, over a dispute over my suspension,” he explained.
The allegations against him, he said, included claims that he was working with Jacob Zuma’s MK Party (MKP), a charge he vehemently denied. “On the one hand the leadership said it’s in possession of an intelligence report, in which they claim that I am part of the infiltration strategy by the MKP, I am working with the MKP, I am planning to go and join, I am waiting for some opportune moment.”
Ndlozi clarified that he had no plans on joining MKP led by former president Jacob Zuma.
“I can state categorically now that I never planned to join the MKP I still don’t, I never worked with anyone in the MKP in relation to some conspiracy about my departure. The information they had was based largely on lies,” he said.
The second count, Ndlozi said, rested on his knowledge of Shivambu’s intention to dump the EFF. “I was told to stay at home, cease my participation in Parliament and the rest of the activities of the EFF. It was very important for me because they said the investigation is still ongoing, and when the investigation is finished, I would be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations.”
He described the suspension as irregular, arguing that it did not align with the party’s constitution.
EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, the EFF's former spokesperson and MP, has spoken out after months of silence. He explained that his absence from the 3rd National People's Assembly stemmed from disagreements over his suspension prior to the party's elective conference. Ndlozi… pic.twitter.com/xhXU3YjznG
— SABC News (@SABCNews) February 9, 2025
In his interview, Ndlozi confirmed that he was barred from attending the EFF national people’s assembly in December and had been suspended six weeks before it. He said this was because of reports that he was among the EFF leaders waiting for the right moment to defect to the MK party. Ndlozi said it was not his responsibility to inform the EFF leadership of Shivambu’s plans to leave the party.
“I did know about the departure of Floyd Shivambu, he told me about his considerations, and I told him to take the leadership into confidence, he did,” said Ndlozi.
“The idea that I should have run behind his back and informed other people, or the leadership suggests that I’m an informant, a gossiper or a wedge driver, I am none of those.”
Ndlozi also spoke candidly about what he termed a “miscalculated tactic of entanglement” between the EFF and the MKP, arguing that it led to electoral losses in the 2024 general elections.
“It’s now a matter of public record that our leadership has been engaged with [former] president [Jacob Zuma] as well as the MKP for a very long time, a long time ago. My count is that it has been the last three to four years,” he said.
“It is that tactic of entanglement which in my view was responsible for the heavy losses which we saw that the EFF sustained in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, being overtaken in Mpumalanga as well as in the National Assembly.”
Ndlozi suggested that the distrust brought forward by Shivambu’s departure was a consequence of the party’s leadership failing to acknowledge their entanglement with the MKP. “This, in my view, was a miscalculated tactic of entanglement should be understood for what is responsible for what rocked us in relation to the departure of the then deputy president [Floyd Shivambu] and ultimately, Dali Mpofu”.
Ndlozi’s move comes after months of speculation about his future in the Red Berets.
EFF leader Julius Malema criticised party members for not pledging allegiance to the party after alleging that Ndlozi was aware of Shivambu’s plans to defect to the MK party but did not say anything.
In one instance, Malema indirectly criticised Ndlozi’s wife, actress Mmabatho Montsho, after she “liked” an Instagram post by Shivambu announcing his defection.
This was after he was barred from attending the party’s elective conference in December. Malema said he was not a leader of the EFF.
Malema said he would not work with people whom he believed were trying to destroy the revolution.
Despite his departure from the EFF, Ndlozi expressed confidence in the future of South African politics. “But overall, I think that I’ve made my contribution, and I think that there are brilliant young men and women, old men and women in the space who will continue in that category, as it were, of party politics.”
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo declined to comment on Ndlozi’s resignation. “The EFF is not interested in the commentary of self-absorbed and obnoxious individuals. We wish him well in his future endeavours,” Tambo said.
Ndlozi was a founding member of the party and previously served as its national spokesperson and an MP.
