MK Party Chief Whip in court for allegedly demanding 60% of MPs' salaries

CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE— The chief whip of Umkhonto we Sizwe, Nthabiseng Mokoena-Zondi, appeared before the Cape Town Magistrates Court on charges of fraud after her arrest on 28 May 2026. She is accused of soliciting payments from party recruits under the pretext that the money would go to pay the legal costs of the party's president, Jacob Zuma.

According to Newzroom Afrika, it is alleged that the 46-year-old recruited four individuals into the party as researchers and forced them to pay between 50 and 60% of their salaries. In the end, the members were defrauded of over R230,000.

Hiccups delay court proceedings

There was a slow start at the Cape Town magistrate court that morning when Zondi was due to appear. An administrative hiccup delayed proceedings. The matter was expected to be heard after the lunch break. The state put forward a charge of fraud against the Umkhonto we Sizwe chief whip. She had handed herself over to authorities earlier that morning.

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Zondi made a court appearance on the charges. She is accused of soliciting amounts from salaries of employees of the MK Party during the period of August to December 2024. The amount involved is more than R233,000.

The party confirmed that the chief whip had handed herself over to law enforcement agencies. The party said it was committed to responding to questions. It would study the situation and respond to the media in the afternoon. The matter had not yet been heard. A bail application was to be put forward. The state would not oppose bail for Zondi.

MKP walks out of Parliament

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the MK Party and the Red Berets refused to stay in Parliament during a Q&A session with President Cyril Ramaphosa. They walked out in the heat of the session.

Source: Briefly News