By Becker Semela:
A storm is rising in the heart of South Africa, and its name is Mayibuye. In a powerful display of political defiance and revolutionary zeal, Floyd Shivambu, the national convenor of the Mayibuye Construction Process (MCP), stood before a packed hall at the BON Hotel in Bloemfontein – not just to speak, but to ignite. Volunteers from every corner of the Free State converged, not with blind hope, but with burning questions, sharpened expectations, and a hunger for authentic liberation.
This was no ordinary meeting. It was a declaration of intent.
“What we are living today is not true freedom,” Shivambu told the room, his voice calm but resolute. “We are here to observe, support, and encourage. But above all, we are here to reclaim the soul of Africa.”
The symbolism was deliberate. Bloemfontein – birthplace of the African National Congress in 1912—served as both setting and message. A place once revered as the cradle of liberation now stands, in Shivambu’s words, as a reminder of how far the dream has fallen.
With surgical precision, Shivambu tore into the current political landscape. He accused the ANC, EFF, and MKP alike of betraying the people. Far from liberators, he called them collaborators in oppression – “part of the problem responsible for landlessness, homelessness, and a lack of real freedom.”
The crowd, filled with activists, traditional leaders, students, and township organisers, listened intently, some nodding, others with clenched fists. This was not just a rally. It was a reckoning.
One of the most charged moments came when Shivambu addressed the questionable number of voting stations located on farms throughout the province. He openly cast doubt on the legitimacy of votes received by parties like the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus (FF+).
“Whose interests do these votes really serve?” he asked. “We must not protect the oppressors. We are here to fight for the dignity of our people.”
Gasps and murmurs swept through the room. For some, it was the first time such accusations were voiced with such clarity. For others, it was long overdue.
Then came his brutal critique of local governance. According to Shivambu, not a single municipality in the Free State functions as it should. What exists instead, he said, is a dangerous cocktail of factionalism, corruption, and abandonment.
“People are tired of empty promises. They are tired of watching their communities collapse while leaders enrich themselves,” he declared.
Shivambu was once at the heart of South Africa’s leftist politics. Now, he is positioning himself as the torchbearer of a new liberation, distancing himself not only from the ANC but also from his former comrades in the EFF and MKP.
The MCP is not merely a political alternative – it is shaping up to be a movement of reclamation, invoking the original battle cry of “Mayibuye iAfrika”, not as rhetoric, but as a call to arms.
Already, the movement is building momentum in Limpopo, and now, it’s laying down roots in the Free State – one of the country’s most contested and politically fragile provinces.
“Let us stop and hear the people,” Shivambu urged, calling for deep consultation with traditional leaders and communities.
The MCP is framing itself as the true inheritor of the liberation struggle, one that champions Ubuntu, grassroots democracy, and a radical redistribution of dignity. – @NewsSA_Online
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