Marcus Moloko
Controversial businessman Brown Mogotsi has hit back at the ANC in a scathing video interview, denying the party’s claim that his membership has lapsed.
Mogotsi criticised senior ANC leaders and insisted that he remains a valid member despite the party announcing that his membership has expired.
In a SABC video interview released this week, Mogotsi said: “I am a member of the ANC in good standing. My membership only expires at the end of October.”
He said ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula’s statements that his ANC membership had expired were unwarranted and simply overreaching.
Speaking after the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) meeting this month, Mbalula told reporters that the ANC was in the middle of a renewal process and would not shield those implicated in wrongdoing.
Mbalula conceded that Mogotsi had once been an ANC member but insisted that his membership had since expired.
“Let me explain Brown Mogotsi,” Mbalula said.
“Mogotsi was a member of the ANC. He did not occupy any significant role in the ANC, except being a member. His membership expired.”
His remarks followed explosive testimony before the Madlanga Commission, where WhatsApp messages allegedly showed Mogotsi using his proximity to ANC structures to facilitate payments from criminal networks and influence internal operations in the police.
In the video interview, Mogotsi accuses Mbalula of selective targeting and claims that Mbalula was involved in questionable activities, including using a private yacht to arrive at the ANC’s 113th anniversary celebrations at Robben Island. Other guests had used the island’s ferry.
Mogotsi insists in the video that disciplinary action cannot be taken against him unless he is formally charged, and that the ANC’s constitution did not empower the Secretary-General to unilaterally revoke membership.
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