Stage is set for MK Party's first anniversary celebration

DURBAN - Former president Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party celebrates its one-year anniversary at Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.

The party, launched just months before the 2024 general elections is now the official opposition in parliament.

It also garnered the highest number of votes in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) but isn't in charge of the province due to a deal struck between the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA).

The MKP will go down in history as an organisation that helped bring the ANC below the 50% mark at the national polls.

It's been described by Zuma as a mission to rescue the ANC, the very same party which he served for six decades, but has since given him the boot. 

Thousands of those expected at Moses Mabhida stadium will be treated to at least an hour of interfaith prayers, as well as messages from the party's women and youth structures.

Zuma himself is set to address supporters much later in the day. 

MKP spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndlela said no one took the establishment of the party seriously.

“Everyone thought we were really playing games, not to be a force to be reckoned with, but history will now tell you that is not the case.”

The rally will be followed by a gala dinner on Monday when the MKP officially marks 12 months since Zuma announced its existence to the country.