MK Party To Protest Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Visit to South Africa, SA Weighs In

• The official opposition, the MK Party, said it will protest the arrival of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• Zelenskyy is expected to visit South Africa on a state visit, and the MK Party slammed his visit
• Its secretary-general, Floyd Shivambu, said Zelenksyy's visit opposes South Africa's non-alignment and anti-imperialist stance

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

JOHANNESBURG — The MK Party's secretary-general, Floyd Shivambu, said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to South Africa on 10 April 2025 goes against South Africa's non-alignment and anti-imperialism stances. He said the official opposition plans on protesting his visit.

What MKP said about Zelenskyy's visit

IOL reported that the party condemned Zelenskyy's visit to the country. Shivambu said President Cyril Ramaphosa was misguided in extending an invitation to Zelenskyy. He said the party intended to formally oppose the visit.

Read also

Siviwe Gwarube says SA nowhere near solving gender-based violence

Shivambu, who was appointed the MKP's secretary-general after he joined the party, said the MKP will stage protests. He called Zelenskyy a puppet of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Why is Zelenskyy coming to SA?

According to Kyiv Independent, Zelenksyy's visit is part of efforts between him and Ramaphosa to bring an end to Russia's war against Ukraine. Pretoria has, since the beginning of the conflict, adopted a neutral stance.

A history of SA's involvement in the Ukraine- Russia war

• His visit comes two years after Ramaphosa formed part of an initiative with five other African countries as part of a peace mission
• The meeting was not successful; it yielded no deal between the two warring states
• In February, he pushed for a state visit. The Presidency said Ramaphosa was willing to facilitate peace talks with the two nations if necessary
• The invitation came after United States president, Donald Trump, blasted Zelenskyy on live TV during a visit to the United States

Read also

ANC will engage AfriForum and Solidarity over the US-SA tensions

Mixed reactions from South Africans

Netizens on IOL's Facebook post had different views about Zelenskyy's visit.

WisaniGuyu Mudyiwabangu Mn' wanati said:

"Petty politics. We have serious issues other than protesting for someone visiting South Africa."

Kim Vilakazi said:

"MKP should take several seats! We have enough problems of our own. They should be addressing unemployment and crime in this country."

Thembinkosi Wakeni said:

"MKP is not in government. They can make their noise, but if the decision is made to host Zelenskyy, that noise will be useless."

Sny Tshazibana said:

"I don't understand why CR17 would invite this guy. We have enough problems already."

Madlezbabayo Khumalo said:

"When African heads of state tried to broker peace in his country, Zelenskyy sneered at them, and now that his American handlers have turned against him, he is brave enough to come here."

MK Party protests 2024 general elections result

Read also

Preparation for SADC troops to be withdrawn from DRC commences, SA discusses

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the MK Party embarked on a two-day protest against the 2024 general elections. The party stood by its view that the elections were rigged.

The party planned a 14 hour walk which took them from Alexandra in Johannesburg to the Constitutiona Court. The march was entitled "Where is my vote?", and it drew various reactions from social media.

Source: Briefly News