SACP’s Solo Bid: A Political Gamble or a Cry for Relevance

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By: Noko Mabofa Maleka | Insight Jozi News

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has made it clear: it intends to contest the 2026 municipal elections independently, breaking away from its historic alliance with the African National Congress (ANC).

In a recent conversation with SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila, I put to him the question many political observers have been quietly asking: Isn’t it too late for the Communist Party to carve its own electoral path?

After all, the SACP’s influence is deeply woven into the ANC’s political DNA. Many of its members not only carry ANC membership cards but also occupy influential positions in government, business, and ministerial offices—achievements made possible through their long-standing alignment with the governing party.

Mapaila’s answer was resolute. He argued that the SACP can no longer meaningfully advance its communist vision from within the ANC, signalling a decisive ideological break.

But while the SACP frames this move as a matter of political principle, the ANC views it with concern.

On 6 August 2024, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula told the media that the party has “tried by all means” to convince the SACP to reconsider, warning of “massive repercussions” for both organisations. He pointed to the SACP’s poor performance in recent Seshego by-elections—where the EFF claimed a sweeping victory—as an example of the risks the Communists face outside the alliance’s shelter.

When asked by SABC journalist Samkelo Maseko whether the ANC could ultimately prevent the split, Mbalula conceded that the party may no longer be able to stop the SACP from going it alone.

Pressed further by a News24 reporter on whether the SACP’s decision was influenced by perceived snubs in the Government of National Unity (GNU) cabinet allocations, Mbalula gave no definitive answer. Still, the political undercurrents are difficult to ignore.

In the GNU’s formation, the SACP’s allies in the ANC appeared sidelined, with key ministerial posts going instead to the Democratic Alliance and even to smaller, less influential parties like the Patriotic Alliance. For a movement that has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the ANC through decades of struggle and governance, this may have felt like a public slight—a diminishment of its political stature.

Some observers see the SACP’s new direction as less about ideological purity and more about a political cry for attention; a warning shot across the bow of its long-time ally that it will not be ignored. Others argue that the Communist Party’s survival now depends on proving it has genuine grassroots support, independent of the ANC brand.

If the SACP is seeking to reassert its identity and reconnect with its working-class base, breaking away may be its only path forward. But if this is a calculated bid for political relevance in the age of coalition politics, the gamble could backfire—especially if it finds itself without enough votes to shape policy or sustain a meaningful parliamentary presence.

For now, the ANC remains publicly diplomatic, but the truth is clear: a formal split will strain the Tripartite Alliance to its core and reshape South Africa’s political landscape in ways both parties may later regret.

What is certain is that in 2026, the SACP will face the ultimate test—not in conference halls or press briefings, but at the ballot box.

The ANC and the Illusion of Liberation

 South Africa has been sold a lie of freedom—a meticulously crafted illusion by the architects of apartheid. The release of Nelson Mandela, once heralded as the dawn of liberation, was a calculated move by a cunning apartheid regime. Mandela was paraded globally, not as a symbol of true emancipation but as a puppet of a more sophisticated system of oppression. The apartheid government knew their crimes. And  brutality was unsustainable in the face of growing international scrutiny. They needed a new strategy—a subtler form of control that would maintain their grip on economic power while pacifying the masses with the illusion of democracy.

This strategy was executed with surgical precision. Mandela, the revered revolutionary, was systematically groomed and manipulated during his post-release world tours. By 1992, he stood at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, delivering a speech that was a far cry from his earlier socialist ideals. Overnight, the African National Congress abandoned its radical economic policies, signaling to the world that South Africa’s new leadership would play by the rules of global capitalism—a system inherently skewed in favor of the West and its historical beneficiaries.

This betrayal was the final nail in the coffin for genuine liberation. Instead of holding the architects of apartheid accountable for their crimes, the ANC extended an olive branch, preaching reconciliation to a nation that had not yet healed. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission became a stage for performative apologies, while the real perpetrators of systemic oppression walked away unscathed. The much-needed economic redress—the redistribution of land and wealth—was shelved in favor of appeasing white monopoly capital (WMC).

Today, the ANC has morphed into an entity that protects the very interests it once vowed to dismantle. It has betrayed the millions of South Africans who placed their faith in the ballot box, believing that change would come through the power of their vote. Instead, the ANC government has perfected the art of deception, selling dreams of a better tomorrow while perpetuating a system that enriches the elite few at the expense of the suffering masses.

The scars of apartheid remain deeply etched into the fabric of this nation. Land, wealth, and opportunities are still concentrated in the hands of the white minority, while the black majority languishes in poverty and unemployment. The ANC’s incompetence and corruption have only deepened these wounds. The leadership has prioritized personal enrichment over national progress, feeding off a system designed to exploit.

Moeletsi Mbeki once said that the ANC entered power in 1994 without a coherent economic strategy. For an organization that had fought for over eight decades, this was a damning indictment. It is evident that the ANC underestimated the complexity and ruthlessness of the system they sought to dismantle. Since assuming power, they have been playing catch-up, learning about governance while the architects of apartheid and global capitalism tightened their stranglehold on the economy.

The South African dream of liberation remains a mirage. The apartheid government, in its final years, masterfully transitioned into a system of neo-colonialism, where the tools of oppression are subtler but just as effective. The ANC, whether through naivety or complicity, became the gatekeepers of this system. It is now up to new movements and alliances, like the EFF and MK Party, to reignite the revolutionary spirit and challenge the status quo.

Disclaimer: Some of the views expressed in this article are personal opinions and reflections gathered from public discourse. As an independent writer, I aim to explore issues that mainstream journalism often shies away from, sparking conversations that push us closer to the truth.

By Noko Mabofa Maleka