Former EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu has officially launched the Afrika Mayibuye Movement (AMM) as a direct challenger to the African National Congress, declaring that the ruling party has “no space in the future” of South Africa because its value system has become “too corrupt”.
Speaking at the movement’s inaugural national convention held at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus on Saturday, Shivambu told hundreds of delegates that the AMM would contest the 2026 local government elections with the aim of winning an outright majority in several municipalities. He however left the door open for coalitions, saying the party was willing to enter “constructive engagements” if no single party achieves a majority”.
“There is a massive political vacuum in South Africa today,” Shivambu said. “The ANC has abandoned the people. Its moral and ideological compass is completely lost. Even the young lions have been turned into hyenas feeding at the trough. We are here to fill that gap with a genuine, disciplined, revolutionary movement rooted in dignity, community service and direct action.”
The convention formally adopted the AMM’s founding manifesto, policy documents and commission reports, with delegates representing all 54 municipal districts across the country. The party, publicly unveiled in September 2025 after Shivambu’s acrimonious departure from the Economic Freedom Fighters, insists it is neither a splinter nor a faction but a completely new political home.
Core pledges include free quality education, universal healthcare, decent work and fair wages, radical land redistribution without compensation in certain cases, and the rapid industrialisation of the economy. Shivambu described these policies as a return to the original ideals of the liberation struggle that he accused the ANC of betraying.
The launch has already sparked lively, and largely mocking, reaction on social media. Many South Africans joked that the new party should rather be called “uMkhonto weSizwe Mayihambe” or simply “Mayihambe” (let it go), while others compared the rapid emergence of new parties to “spaza shops in every location”. One widely shared comment quipped that Floyd Shivambu had apparently “fallen” for an old Bushiri prophecy about a new leader rising. The other popular comment read “you can never be like Julius Malema”.
Despite the online ridicule, organisers say membership applications have surged since the convention, with branches reporting thousands of new sign-ups in townships and rural areas.
Political analysts say the AMM enters an already crowded left-of-ANC space also occupied by the EFF and MK Party, but Shivambu’s personal brand and organisational experience could give it an edge in provinces such as Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
As the 2026 municipal elections approach, the Afrika Mayibuye Movement is positioning itself as the latest contender hoping to capitalise on widespread disillusionment with the ANC’s three decades in power.
