Party profile
ARU
AFRICAN RENAISSANCE UNITY PARTY
Party leader
Siphephile Mahlaba
Founded
July 25 2026
About the party
The African Renaissance African Renaissance Unity (ARU) party was originally founded in 2018 by traditional leaders out of a shared frustration and a need to lobby for the political and constitutional protection of traditional chiefs and their rural communities. The party gained renewed traction and underwent a high-profile relaunch on July 25, 2026, featuring an alliance with ousted uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party founder Jabulani Khumalo. Launched ahead of the November elections, the party's interim leader is former Afrika Mayibuye Movement secretary-general Siphephile Mahlaba.
