• The Nxamalala Detachment claims provincial leaders have put themselves forward for council seats despite failing to deliver good election results.

• The group’s chairperson confirmed the letter was intended for party leaders but declined to discuss the grievances while awaiting Zuma’s response.

MK Party volunteers in the Eastern Cape have appealed to party leader Jacob Zuma to intervene over proportional representation lists, saying council seats must not become a “reward for failure”.

In a letter sent to the party’s national leadership on Monday, the Nxamalala Detachment accuses the provincial leadership of seeking council positions after delivering what the group describes as embarrassing local government election results.

The letter, which Scrolla.Africa has seen, was written by detachment leaders Crosby Cakata, Ncumisa Mekane, Lumka Ndawo and chairperson Bulelwa Jack.

The group claims the party’s provincial election machinery submitted lists that would allow its own leaders to take up council seats.

“How can the same machinery that was given a mammoth task to lead us into these Local Government Elections now reward itself with positions after delivering disgrace and embarrassment to this Province?” the letter asks.

The volunteers argue that grassroots members kept the party’s campaign going despite having fewer resources.

“They had the positions. They had the power. They had the office,” the letter reads.

“We worked for free. We had no resources. And we still stood firm.”

The group says the seats belong to the efforts of volunteers and loyal members who continued campaigning when, it alleges, provincial leaders had abandoned them.

“We cannot allow those seats to become a reward for failure,” the letter states.

Approached for comment, Jack questioned how Scrolla.Africa had obtained the letter and declined to discuss its contents while the group awaited Zuma’s response.

“This letter is only directed to the leadership and we cannot talk about it in the media because we are still waiting for the response from our president Jacob Zuma,” she said.

The detachment says it remains committed to building the party ahead of the 2029 national elections, with plans and programmes to grow support.

But it argues that the party cannot build towards 2029 without addressing what went wrong in 2026.

MK Party spokesperson and deputy secretary-general Sfiso Mahlangu could not be reached for comment by publication. His phone went to voicemail, and he had not responded to questions sent via WhatsApp.