‘I have one month to live’
Despite threats, Khoza calls for secret ballot
OUTSPOKEN ANC MP Makhosi Khoza yesterday stunned civil society organisations at the Rhema Bible Church in Randburg when she declared that she might be dead in a month.
Khoza, who has recently received a series of death threats after she publicly pushed for Parliament to hold the no-confidence vote against President Jacob Zuma on August 8 by secret ballot, believes that those opposed to her would kill her in less than a month.
“In case I do not make it (alive) to August 8, 2017, Mr President, you must know that you are haunting the South African nation,” Khoza said.
Parliament yesterday took Khoza’s fears for her life seriously when it said extra security would be provided for the KZN MP. This followed a police assessment which determined that a security threat exists against her.
Spokesperson for Parliament Moloto Mothapo said the Speaker had referred Khoza’s matter to the police for further handling after she submitted a report pertaining to the threats she has been receiving.
“The SAPS conducted a security assessment and submitted its report, with recommendations, on July 13 for consideration by Parliament’s Executive Authority – the Speaker of the National Assembly and the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces. The security assessment confirmed that a security threat existed and that appropriate support must be provided to Dr Khoza,” Mothapo said.
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said law enforcement agents were not taking the threats lightly and had ordered a team to track down those behind the series of threatening text messages sent to Khoza last week.
Khoza recently posted screen grabs on her Facebook account containing threatening messages she had received, warning her against pushing for a secret ballot for the motion of no-confidence.
One of the text messages she received reads: “This time around, you should do what is best for yourself,” which was followed up with: “I will find you and I will kill you. You have 21 days before you die.”
Political killings and threats have risen as the ANC elective conference in December draws nearer.
On Monday night, the Speaker of the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape, was gunned down a few weeks after receiving a death threat. According to media reports, Thozama Njobe was shot in the upper body while driving with a colleague.
Yesterday, the Hawks released identikits of two suspects believed to be linked to the shooting of Sindiso Magaqa, former ANC Youth League secretary-general, and two other ANC councillors in KZN last week.
The Moerane Commission investigating political killings in Khoza’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal heard testimony on Monday that Durban south’s notorious Glebelands Hostel was a haven for hitmen who operated throughout the province and the country.
Unfazed by the threats to her life and these latest killings, Khoza yesterday fired more bitter salvoes against corruption in the ANC while pleading with Zuma to step down.
“I am here because South Africans, the people, are speaking and I have to listen attentively so that my ANC can be an effective instrument of liberation. Can the ANC be an effective instrument of non-racialism when it is led by a president who has lost legitimacy, credibility and integrity?” Khoza asked.
She said the threats to her life would not silence her and pleaded for Zuma to step down.
The KZN MP was part of a panel speaking at the Conference for the Future of South Africa at Rhema Bible Church.
MORE questions were being asked yesterday with regard to the departure of South African Social Security Agency boss Thokozani Magwaza, with the SACP, Cosatu and Black Sash entering the fray.
Meanwhile, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini kept a low profile, giving no indication of who Magwaza’s successor might be.
Dlamini’s spokesperson, Lumka Oliphant, said: “The minister will make an announcement in due course.”
The SACP demanded answers after it was reported that Magwaza had left because his relationship with the minister had irretrievably broken down. It said Magwaza firmly supported using the South African Post Office to distribute social grants to 17 million beneficiaries.
“Magwaza is well known for his firm position in the defence and advancement of the ANC’s resolution, which is also an SACP resolution, that the Post Office/Bank must be given the responsibility of distributing for social grants, as opposed to a private company,” said SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo.
“Among others, Magwaza deposed an affidavit in a Constitutional Court case on the crisis that engulfed social grants distribution.”
Cosatu has called for Dlamini’s head and warned that if the wheels come off on social grants, the blame should be put at the minister’s door.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said Magwaza had been pushed.
“We strongly condemn the intimidation tactics and death threats directed at him, and call on Parliament to demand answers over his departure,” he said.
“The federation reiterates its position that Minister Bathabile Dlamini is no longer an asset to the department. She is, in fact, a liability.
“It is no coincidence that Magwaza had been pushed out when he was due to file papers in the Constitutional Court on why Minister Dlamini should pay legal costs from her own pocket.”
The Black Sash also said it was concerned about the departure of senior officials in the government.
Spokesperson Esley Philander said they were concerned about whether Sassa would be able to “procure services timeously to ensure the proper functioning and integrity of the agency’s national payment system”.
Philander warned that South Africa must not face another extension of the Cash Paymaster Services contract when it expired next March.
This followed the Constitutional Court decision early this year to extend the contract for another 12 months while another service provider was being sought.