Former EFF deputy president and Afrika Mayibuye Movement leader Floyd Shivambu celebrated his 43rd birthday by giving 105 pairs of school shoes to needy pupils at Winnie Mandela Primary School in Thembisa, Ekurhuleni.
The handover took place on Wednesday as part of Shivambu’s giving back initiative following his January 1 birthday.
The donation came after the community asked for help for a nine-year-old child without a wheelchair.
Afrika Mayibuye national spokesperson Sydney Baloyi said the drive aimed to uplift disadvantaged children.
“In his speech to the community, president Floyd Shivambu said it must become a tradition within the Afrika Mayibuye Movement to give instead of receiving gifts as part of birthday celebrations,” Baloyi said.
He said Shivambu also expressed dismay at what he described as the cruelty of a government unable to provide wheelchairs for children with physical disabilities that prevent them from walking.
“He committed that Mayibuye will continue to be the voice of the poor and of people with disabilities,” Baloyi added.
In a post on X, Shivambu said, “On December 30, 2025, we received a text message from one of Mayibuye’s leaders in Tembisa saying that during door-to-door visits, they came across a family with a nine-year-old child who has a disability yet does not have a wheelchair.”
He also pledged to donate more school shoes.
“We committed to donate an additional 300 pairs of school shoes because we could not cover all the children who came with their parents and guardians,” he said.
Shivambu, who is the former deputy president of the EFF, joined the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party in August 2024 after leaving the EFF, which he co-founded in 2013.
His time in the MK Party was short-lived.
He was expelled in June 2025 following internal dissent.
Many MK members opposed his inclusion, and he was removed as secretary-general after attending a church service in Malawi led by fugitive preacher Shepherd Bushiri.
Although former President Jacob Zuma initially said Shivambu would be redeployed to Parliament, his name was later excluded from the MK parliamentary list.
He subsequently launched the Afrika Mayibuye Movement. However the party has faced internal squabbles, which led to some members dumping the party.
Among those who resigned are former first deputy president Robert Nwedo and two deputy secretaries.
Among those who lead the movement are Thato Ralokgokgodi as first deputy president, Nomusa Sibisi-Kama-Shobane as second deputy president, and Sphephile Cyprian Mhlaba as third deputy president.
Lazola Ndamase was unveiled as the movement’s secretary-general, with Mzwandile Goge as first deputy secretary-general, Nosipho Makamba as second deputy secretary-general, and Mmabatho Mokaouse as chairperson.
The leadership reconfiguration follows the recent resignation of the members.
Politics
