CHARLES MOLELE and THEBE MABANGA
The ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule has been granted bail of R200 00 after he briefly appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Friday in a case that is likely to deepen divisions with the governing party.
Magashule, one of the most powerful and senior leaders of the African National Congress, is facing 20 counts of fraud, corruption, money-laundering and the Prevention of Organized Crime Act (POCA).
The state earlier submitted that bail be set at R250,000 but his legal representative, Lauren Hodes to the court that Magashule cannot afford the proposed bail amount.
Magistrate Amos Moos eventually granted bail to the amount of R200 000.
He said Magashule should not have any contact with the State Witness – his former personal assistant Moroadi Cholota, who is currently in the United States, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Magashule’s case was characterized by ugly scenes outside the court building when his supporters burned ANC T-shirts bearing the face of President Cyril Ramaphosa, calling on him to step down.
Magashule’s supporters also accused Ramaphosa of abusing ‘state organs’ to settle political scores.
They danced, chanted and waved banners reading ‘Hands Off Comrade Magashule’.
The Democratic Alliance’s provincial leader Roy Jankielson was also physically attacked by ANC members.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe condemned the acts of anarchy and mayhem outside court, saying the party leadership will address the issue of people who committed acts of ‘anarchy’, including those who were seen burning the ANC T-shirt bearing the face of the president.
Addressing party members after his appearance, Magashule condemned the burning of ANC T-shirts.
“If you burn a T-shirt of the president, you are destroying the brand and not the individual. This week, I met with the National Officials of the ANC and I said I don’t want any T-shirt with my face on it,” said Magashule.
“I work well with David Mabuza, Paul Mashatile, Gwede Mantashe, Jessie Duarte and the President.”
Magashule is leading a powerful faction within the governing party, commonly known as the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) forces.
Magashule’s supporters have opposed Ramaphosa since he replaced former President Jacob Zuma as head of state in February 2018, accusing him of failing to implement conference resolutions.
Ramaphosa has promised to clean up the ANC’s image and act tough on corruption.
After the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting in August, Ramaphosa said members who faced corruption charges should resign from leadership positions until their cases are finalized.
The ANC has not asked Magashule to step down because of the corruption allegations.
A defiant Magashule said he won’t step aside, and only branches can remove him from his position.
“I was elected by branches of the ANC at conference. I will go to a special conference and if the branches say step aside, I will then do so because it will be coming out of the basic unit of the ANC, the branches. Nobody, and I mean, nobody, can remove us,” said Magashule.
“I will never be intimated by anybody. The ANC does not belong to any individual. I belong to the people. I’ve never done business with government. This is the right time to speak out. I will expose people and their businesses – and how some of them used government credit cards to buy perfumes and play golf. I will reveal many things. I will give you a story that will shake South Africa. We are quiet because we are disciplined.”
This is the first instance since Zuma was charged with corruption that a member of the ANC Top Six actually faced charges in court.
And this is likely to bear parallels to the ‘Jacob Zuma Horror Show’, according to several political analysts.
The first problem that the case presents for the ANC is enforcing its “step aside” rule, which is supposed to be a resolution of the party affirmed by its highest decision making structure outside conference, the NEC.
The ANC has already stated that it does not expect Magashule to step aside in the wake of his appearance, whatever its outcome.
The ANC has accepted that the rule is hard to legally enforce and that is probably because it is poorly crafted to cover leaders, office bearers and party members on virtually any charge.
According to political observers, the ANC should probably apply the rule to office bearers at all levels and consider the nature and gravity of the offence where the offender has appeared in court.
For instance, the R50 000 bail given to former Ethekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, accused of trying to defraud her own municipality of R241 million, suggests that the court deems the matter serious enough that she should be asked to step aside and not be eligible for elevation to the provincial legislature, as the ANC in that province did, until the matter is resolved.
Yet the ANC in Kwa Zulu Natal defied the rule again in allowing their strongman Mike Mabuyakhulu to rerun to work in spite of a cloud hanging over him.
The other danger with this rule is that around key election times, contestants can have charges brought against them to force them to stand aside, only to have charges withdrawn or cases collapse after elections have passed.
The case also brings the ANC the headache of “ANC v ANC” when party factions openly oppose each other.
Magashule and the Top 6 issued clear instruction of no protests in party regalia outside court in support of Magashule.
Yet MKMVA spokesperson Carl Niehaus organised a night vigil at Bloemfontein Loch Logan Park Rose Garden ahead of the court case.
The Regional Task Team of the Free Sate went a step further, after earlier in the week calling for a protest against corruption, they have now called for people to come out and march in support of someone accused of the very thing they were protesting against.
Magashule belongs to a distinguished league of ‘Strong Men’ in the ANC comprising of former North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo and Deputy President David Mabuza.
They are all senior figures who succeeded in dominating predominantly rural provinces, which are a collection of small towns and hamlets and bend them to their will by spreading largesse.
Mahumapelo was successfully ejected by a ‘fight back’ campaign led by young people when his corrupt tentacles were deemed to have reached too far, and he is yet to formally account for how fruitless and wasteful expenditure ballooned from R2 billion to R14 billion under his watch.
Like Zuma, should the case proceed to trial, the country can safely expect prolonged and delaying tactics.
He is likely to deploy every tactic to avoid facing jail, including a full blown pursuit of the presidency of the party and then of the country, to protect himself and benefit those around him.
(SOURCE: INSIDE POLITICS)
