Simon Nare
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has conceded that former President Jacob Zuma has done some serious damage to the party by taking it to below 50% at the polls and the party is still reeling from that.
“His platform (MK party) is dangerous, appeals to extremist instincts in our body politic and riles up a political base that may foment social unrest. His actions reinforces the work of the primarily right-wing opponents of the National Democratic Revolution,” said Mbalula
Mbalula said this on Monday while giving the reasons why the party’s National Disciplinary Committee found that Zuma had actively impugned the integrity of the ANC and campaigned to dislodge it from power while still a member of the party.
Expelled former ANC president and MK party leader Jacob Zuma’s conduct was irreconcilable with the spirit of the party’s constitution and he had embarked on a dangerous platform that appealed to extremists and reinforced the work of primarily right-wing opponents of the National Democratic Revolution, said Mbalula.
“This conduct is irreconcilable with the spirit of the organisational discipline and letter of the ANC constitution. Furthermore, former president Zuma has been running on a dangerous platform that casts doubts on our (ANC) entire constitutional edifice.
“He has meted out a host of anti-revolutionary outbursts, including mischievously calling into question the credibility of our electoral processes without cause and discrediting the rationale of our judicial system,” charged Mbalula.
Zuma’s expulsion was confirmed by the party on Sunday through a statement, saying the decision to expel its former leader and president was unanimous among committee members who included Faith Muthambi, Nocawe Mafu, Robinson Ramaite, Kerensa Millard and Vusi Pikoli.
Mbalula on Monday revealed that Zuma had 21 days to appeal his expulsion which he will have to do through the National Disciplinary Committee of Appeals. The party’s secretary-general defended the ANC for the move, saying this was unprecedented in that never has the party in its history has had to deal with a former leader who formed another party.
“Dealing with (the) Jacob Zuma matter has not been an easy one in terms of how normally you deal with people who behave like him as members of the ANC who choose to leave the party and then form a political party and work against the party and de-campaign the party.
“That’s what Jacob Zuma has done. So, under normal circumstances we should have said he is gone he is gone. The NEC (National Executive Committee) reflected on the matter and took a decision that you must charge Jacob Zuma which is what we have done and this is the final part of it in terms of the charging of Jacob Zuma,” he said.
Mbalula said it was common cause that Zuma had already formed another party and it was baffling that he was still fighting for membership of the ANC. He added that the party could have acted earlier but the action would have been still the same.
He said the former leader during the disciplinary process wanted something akin to a movie to play out at the party’s Luthuli House and not to defend himself or argue his case. He said even when a decision was taken to conduct the hearing virtually his supporters still came to the party’s headquarters to protest.
Inside Politics
