Durban — Prominent uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) member Malesela “King Sebatha” Mkonyama’s long, lone trek from his home province of Limpopo to Nkandla ended with a feast at Jacob Zuma’s house, north of KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.

Mkonyama, a well-known former athlete in Limpopo, was also gifted a bull by the former president and current MKP leader.

A marquee was erected outside Zuma’s Nkandla home, where speaker after speaker praised Mkonyama for his “heroic” walk from Limpopo, which he began more than 20 days ago, dubbed #WhereIsMyVote.

This is about the allegation by MKP backers that the May 29 elections were rigged to the party's detriment.

MKP supporters and locals filled the marquee, chanting pro-Zuma songs.

During the event, Zuma, donning an MKP tracksuit, said: “This man (pointing to King Sebatha) is a hero. He walked from Limpopo to my village of Nkandla. This is a huge milestone. We must admire his fighting spirit. He showed he is a true MK Party patriot.”

He added: “As a gesture, I would like to give you a bull as a token of appreciation from me and other MK Party leaders.”

Mkonyama thanked the MKP supporters who edged him and kept him motivated on his way to Nkandla during his more than 670km walk.

“I could not do this without you supporting me, comrades. I am glad that I have finally met my hero, Msholozi (Zuma’s clan name). This walk, comrades, is aimed at inspiring us to continue fighting against the (alleged) rigging of the elections. If I could do it, we can all do it, comrades,” said Mkomyama.

At the same event, Zuma officially welcomed former NFP secretary-general Canaan Mdletshe into the MKP after earlier reports that he had joined the party.

Zuma urged party members to continue fighting against the alleged rigging of votes.

Zuma, along with the legion of MKP backers, has been alleging the rigging of the votes, claiming that they were cheated, saying that there were 9.3 million votes that were unaccounted for.

The party even dragged the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to court. However, it later withdrew the matter, claiming it had roped in experts combing through the new evidence the party had uncovered.

In KZN, the MKP won 37 seats in the provincial legislature with 80 seats, while nationally, the party got 58 seats, becoming the official opposition to the Government of National Unity power pact.

Mkonyama’s arrival in Nkandla came following Zuma’s expulsion from the ANC last week after he dumped the party he once led for 10 years as its president.

The ANC expelled Zuma following his public association with the MKP, which was triggered by his fallout with the incumbent party president Cyril Ramaphosa, who once deputised Zuma as ANC and state deputy president.

Zuma has repeatedly claimed in his previous interviews that he joined the ANC when he was 17 years old.

Zuma has 21 days to appeal against his expulsion by the party’s National Disciplinary Committee.

He has yet to indicate whether he would appeal his expulsion.

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