Maphatsoe is accused of changing his tune
MEMBERS of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) have lashed out at their president, Kebby Maphatsoe, accusing him of “somersaulting” when he reneged on an agreement to hand in a letter denouncing the ANC’s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) was the armed wing of the ANC during the anti-apartheid Struggle.
In a media alert on Monday, Maphatsoe distanced himself from the veterans’ briefing. He said the gathering was not an official MKMVA briefing and that the organisation “would not accept responsibility for the veracity and content of the media briefing”.
But yesterday MKMVA executive committee member Nandi Rweqana told reporters in Joburg that Maphatsoe, who is also Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, had “changed his tune”.
“We wrote this letter together, with Kebby Maphatsoe. Kebby was involved in crafting this letter from beginning to end… He edited the letter. We agreed to hand it in before the ANC national executive committee’s first meeting on January 10.
“We started differing with Kebby when he started somersaulting at the 11th hour when the letter was supposed to be handed in,” she added.
Another executive committee member, Sibusiso Radebe, said Maphatsoe was probably afraid of losing his cabinet position, after his preferred candidate Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma lost to Ramaphosa in the hotly contested ANC leadership race in December.
“We all know that Kebby is on record that he did not support Ramaphosa before the elective conference… he said it himself before the conference that Ramaphosa does not qualify to lead the ANC.
“It might be correct to suggest that he is doing this so that he can keep his post. What is interesting is that he somersaulted after the results were announced at the conference.”
Maphatsoe is a staunch supporter of beleaguered President Jacob Zuma. He was elected MKMVA president last year, with Zuma giving the keynote speech.
Last year, warring factions among the former MK soldiers and generals saw the MKMVA fail to carry out a pledge to unite and work with the MK national council, another structure led by retired SANDF general Siphiwe Nyanda. – African News Agency (ANA)
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