The party is named after uMkhonto weSizwe (also shortened to MK), the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) which was active during the apartheid regime in South Africa.

However, the ANC has threatened legal action over the usage of the name,[12] and the formation has been criticised by original MK veterans.

[17][18][19] Although his image would remain on ballot papers, alongside his party's logo, Zuma's name would be removed from MK's list of parliamentary candidates.

[26] Writing in the Mail & Guardian, Imraan Buccus describes the party's ideology as "predatory and authoritarian nationalism with far right-wing social views".

[42] On the 5th September 2024 the National Assembly unlawfully delegated its responsibility to appoint members to serve on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party when it rubber-stamped its nomination of disgraced judge John Hlophe to serve on the commission, the Western Cape high court heard on Thursday.

[48] Ntuli defeated the MK Party's premier candidate, Zulu Nation deputy prime minister Phathisizwe Chiliza, with 41 votes to 39.