Former Springboks Coach Peter De Villiers Spotted With John Hlophe in an MK Party T-Shirt

• The MK Party's deputy president, Dr John Hlophe, shared a moment with the former Springbok coach Peter De Villiers
• De Villiers was spotted wearing an MK Party T-shirt and was allegedly at Jr Hlophe's farm
• South Africans guffawed, and many roasted the party; some called it desperate for high-profile members

Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, provided local and international political analysis and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his nine years of experience.

JOHANNESBURG—Another high-profile South African could join the ranks of the MK Party. The Springboks' former coach, Peter De Villiers, was seen in an MK Party Shirt with party deputy president Dr John Hlophe.

Ex-Springboks coach to join MKP?

@insightfactor posted a picture of Hlophe standing with De Villiers and another MK Party member. The pair was allegedly at Hlophe's wine farm in the Western Cape. Although known as a rugby figure, De Villiers also has a political background.

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View the tweet here:

De Villiers' political background

Two years after stepping down as the Springboks' coach in 2019, De Villiers campaigned as The Good Party's mayoral candidate for the Drakenstein Local Municipality. He was a municipality council member and resigned in 2022 after his wife passed away.

He was appointed the party's representative in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in 2023. He was suspended after facing a sexual misconduct charge from a party member. Two months before the 2024 general elections, De Villiers was expelled.

Politicians who joined the MK Party

• The Economic Freedom Fighters' former deputy president, Floyd Shivambu, left the Red Berets and joined the MK Party
• Another EFF member, Busi Mkhwebane, the former Public Protector, also joined the MK Party shortly after Shivambu
• Jacob Zuma and the MKP's attorney Dali Mpofu also defected from the EFF and joined the MK Party

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Netizens had a good laugh

South Africans were amused by the possibility of De Villiers joining the MK Party.

SimplyExtraordinary said:

"Proving again that he was Zuma's guy."

Mo Madibi said:

"And you wonder why he lost the Boks' top post."

Lungile said:

"He was always a Marxist. That's why he was happy to be appointed as a Springbok coach solely based on his skin colour."

Christiaan Hattingh said:

"Must be hectic finding relevance."

Tequila asked:

"High profile? Don't you mean high-profile crooks?"

Former ANC MP joins MK Party

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the MK Party appointed former African National Congress Member of Parliament Mervyn Dirks as its KwaZulu-Natal Chief Whip. His appointment came after the party's chief whip, Kwazi Mbanjwa, was suspended.

Dirks was expelled from the ANC after he was accused of having links to the MK Party. Despite his political background, South Africans questioned the validity of his appointment.

Source: Briefly News