Jacob Zuma's MK party has demonstrated one clear focus in Parliament thus far: to rewrite the historical record of South Africa under the presidency of Zuma.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min It has not been easy to discern what the uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party's strategy in Parliament is likely to be, thus far, for one major reason: we still don't know exactly who their MPs are.

Eighteen of the party's 58 MPs were suddenly axed in August, but only eight people were sworn in as replacements last week, meaning that there are still vacancies on its benches.

For a political party to still not have a full, fixed complement of parliamentarians in place more than three months after the elections is surely unprecedented in South African history, and it is understood to be causing significant administrative headaches for Parliament. The institution also cannot function optimally if committees have revolving doors in terms of membership.

While this is probably an unintentional result of MK's clear internal dysfunction, chaos as a byproduct of MK activities nonetheless serves the party. Any hindrance to the functioning of South Africa's democratic institutions is a net win for MK, and the party's manifesto makes its unhappiness with the current composition of Parliament clear: MK says it would ideally fill half of Parliament with...