Nhleko slams Mbalula
EX-MINISTER SAYS HE CAN NO LONGER RECOGNISE THE ANC Spat on comments about ruling party protecting Zuma over the Nkandla scandal.
Former police minister Nathi Nhleko has left the ANC weeks after his spat with secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. In a letter addressed to Mbalula and President Cyril Ramaphosa, among others, Nhleko slammed Mbalula for the comments about the ruling party protecting former president Jacob Zuma and how Nhleko “sweated” through the lies.
“In the recent attack mounted against my person by Fikile Mbalula about what he called ‘my sweating’, ‘the firepool narrative’ and what he called were ‘lies to protect the former president’. He closed his attack by stating that ‘people lost their careers because of this thing’, consequently and regrettably, I resign from this ANC as its current values and principles are not aligned to mine,” wrote Nhleko.
“This demonstrates the bankruptcy, lunacy and the defunct manner of thinking by the secretary-general, which has unfortunately defined the barren form the ANC has undertaken.”
Like Zuma, Nhleko said he could no longer recognise the current ANC.
“The ANC as a liberation movement spoke and acted strongly on good ethics; a collective approach; was people-focused and emphasised on humanity and freedom for all. However, it is deeply sad and painful to see the organisation that I loved dearly turning into something I can no longer recognise.”
Yesterday, Mbalula slammed one of Nhleko’s reasons for leaving the ruling party as a “cheap way out”.
He said: “I see Nathi Nhleko has resigned from the ANC and he blames it on me. What a cheap way out. This fellow told the whole country that a swimming pool is a firepool, wait till I tell you what he advised me to do at a handover meeting.”
Comment from the ANC had not been received at the time of going to press.
In January, Mbalula sparked outrage over comments that members of the ruling party had lied and said Nkandla’s swimming pool was a firepool.
Mbalula said in part: “We formed an ad hoc committee in parliament on Nkandla and said a swimming pool is a firepool. Then minister of police was sweating in that committee because kunzima xa uthetha ubuxoki [it’s difficult to defend lies].”
Mbalula was criticised by fellow cadres, including ANC chair Gwede Mantashe and Nhleko, who rubbished his sweating comments.
Nhleko said the ANC or police department were not qualified to make determinations on any body of water – including the Nkandla firepool.
Speaking to Xoli Mngambi on Newzroom Afrika, Nhleko said: “I did not know Mbalula is now a psychoanalyst, but it’s a terrible thing to suggest that because I was sweating, I must have been lying. In fact, that’s what he said.
“There was no lie I was telling, it’s a different case that I was sweating and I wouldn’t want to entertain that rubbish. No story was cooked up.”
Nhleko said no-one from the ANC or police made the determination that the body of water at Zuma’s Nkandla homestead was a firepool. According to Nhleko, it was the engineers who referred to the body of water as a firepool, due to a report revealing that the water supply in Nkandla would be insufficient in case of an emergency.