News

Why Floyd Shivambu Left the EFF in 2025: “Disruption Was Childish”

Published

3 weeks ago

August 8, 2025

Chiraag

Floyd Shivambu 2025, Shivambu EFF exit, EFF Parliament disruption criticism, Mayibuye iAfrika political party, South African politics Midrand event, MK Party fallout, Joburg ETC

Floyd Shivambu’s departure from the Economic Freedom Fighters may have seemed sudden from the outside, but according to the former deputy president, it was a long time coming. Speaking at a Midrand event in August 2025, Shivambu pulled no punches in describing why he no longer wanted anything to do with the party he helped build.

Behind the scenes: “It was all planned”

Shivambu revealed that the EFF’s most headline-grabbing moments in Parliament, the walkouts, shouting, and delays, were not acts of spontaneous activism but deliberate disruption, rehearsed behind closed doors. He said he was never fully comfortable with it, even during his 10-year tenure in Parliament.

“It was all planned in a childish way, with no purpose,” Shivambu said. “There was only one person who initiated those disruptions. It wasn’t the leadership collectively.”

He added that many of these actions were mistaken for radicalism. “We kept asking, how does this help the people who voted for us?” he said. “Instead, they saw it for what it was: grandstanding.”

Losing support, losing the point

Shivambu cited the EFF’s drop in voter support during the last general election as a wake-up call. The party lost over 600 000 votes compared to previous years, which he attributed to its disruptive image.

“There were 600,000 fewer people who voted for that organisation because they realised, ‘We sent you to represent us there, but you are grandstanding,’” Shivambu said.

He also expressed concern about younger EFF members, many of whom now copy this behaviour in councils and legislatures. “They think being loud and violent is revolutionary, just because the leader says so. But that’s not revolution. That’s just disruption.”

MK Party stint: A rocky chapter

After resigning from the EFF in August 2024, Shivambu joined the MK Party, but the move didn’t go as planned. Many members didn’t support him, and he was removed as secretary-general following a controversial Easter visit to fugitive preacher Shepherd Bushiri in Malawi.

Despite former president Jacob Zuma’s announcement that Shivambu would be redeployed to Parliament, his name was left off the final parliamentary list. “Even if the MK Party didn’t exist, I would have still left the EFF,” Shivambu said.

What comes next: Mayibuye iAfrika

Shivambu is now leading the Mayibuye Consultation Process, a national campaign to engage communities, church leaders, and civil society on the formation of a new political party: Mayibuye iAfrika.

He promised the party would have a completely different tone. “We’ll tell the truth. We won’t lie to people. But we will not be disruptive for the sake of it,” he said. “Disruption will never define Mayibuye.”

Mixed reactions from the public

Shivambu’s remarks sparked strong public debate. Some applauded his honesty, saying the EFF’s behaviour had indeed become performative. Others criticised him for enabling the culture for a decade before speaking out.

Still, he insists this is not about scoring points. “We raised these issues internally. But no one wanted to listen. It was time to walk away.”