By Simon Nare
uMkhonto weSizwe Party deputy president and parliamentary leader John Hlophe has played down ruptures within party, saying the administrative changes are in no way signals of it collapsing.
Hlophe denied recent reports that party chief whip Colleen Makhubele was in the firing line after a petition signed by MPs calling for her head.
The former judge said as party parliamentary leader, the buck stopped with him and he handled all matters and complaints that arose in the legislative house.
He added that he had the backing of party leader former president Jacob Zuma with whom he consulted as and when was necessary.
Hlophe said he had spoken to Zuma on Wednesday, and Zuma too had no knowledge of the petition.
“There is no letter, there is no petition by MPs in terms of them calling for the head of the chief whip. This is a figment of someone’s imagination quite frankly.
“I would have been the first person (to see) that petition. Obviously if the petition was against me, I wouldn’t expect the MPs to give it to me, they would give it to the chief whip who would forward to (MKP) president who is sitting comfortably in Nkandla,” he said.
Hlophe said Makhubele remained the party’s chief whip and was doing a stellar job.
He did, however, confirm that party spokesman Nhlamulo Ndhlela had been removed from the whipery as part of strategic operational move. Hlophe said this had led to rumors that the party was falling apart.
“This is not the first time ever when there is a change made to the whipery… it hits headlines. We don’t understand why.”
Hlophe explained that when Makhubele joined the party, Ndhlela voluntarily vacated the whipery’s communication position to make way for Makhubele.
When Makhubele was promoted to chief whip, the MKP froze the position as an administrative move and Zuma was informed about this change.
Hlophe said that when the party decided to terminate Ndhlela as a deputy chief whip, he was informed through a letter.
He said Ndhlela arrived at a meeting and told the caucus that he had not received the letter, but when it became clear that this was not the case, he changed his story and said the electronic signature was not authentic.
Hlophe’s remarks sharply contradict Ndhlela’s remarks during a television interview, where he stated that he had called Ndhlela and he (Hlophe) had told him that his signature had been abused several times.
Hlophe confirmed that the letter came from his office.
He added that Ndhlela insisted he never received the letter even when Hlophe’s personal assistant sent him proof at that time.
He reiterated that just because Ndhlela had been removed from the whipery, it did mean that the party was falling apart.
The MKP has made several changes to its leadership positions in recent months, including demoting Floyd Shivambu as secretary general.
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