I will not be silenced, says defiant Khoza
DESPITE the possibility of facing disciplinary action from her party, outspoken ANC MP Dr Makhosi Khoza has vowed not to keep quiet and dared the ANC to expel her if it wants to.
“If they choose to fire me, so be it. If they choose to kill me, then so be it. I am a fan of Socrates, who had the option to apologise, but he did not, because he believed in the rule of law. I also believe in the rule of law,” she said yesterday.
Khoza angered ANC leaders this week when she granted media interviews on the sidelines of the national policy conference in contravention of party rules that no delegate could grant interviews unless it was approved by the communications team.
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said Khoza was “out of order” for granting the interviews, in which she was critical of the ANC and its leadership. Kodwa said the matter had been referred to the conference steering committee to decide on what action, if any, would be taken against Khoza.
But Khoza remained defiant. If charged by the ANC, Khoza said, she would subject herself to the disciplinary process, but warned she would also seek to bring counter-charges against individuals she feels have brought the party into disrepute.
In a veiled attack on President Jacob Zuma, she said she did not understand why the ANC would target her when others had brought the organisation into disrepute.
“I have never been to court accused of stealing from the public. I have never been accused of preying on the children of my friends, just to satisfy my lust and sexual desires. And when are we going to charge people implicated in the (Gupta) emails?” she asked.
Khoza is seen as leading the anti-Zuma lobby within the ANC caucus, having made it clear that she will not vote for an “amoral” leadership.
This week, the ANC issued a stern warning to its MPs, saying anyone who wanted to vote against Zuma in the upcoming vote of no-confidence could face expulsion. National executive committee member and Police Minister Fikile Mbalula likened those MPs planning on voting against Zuma to suicide bombers.
Khoza said she was disturbed by Mbalula’s statement, saying it negated the ANC’s commitment to healing divisions. Pronouncements by Mbalula constituted threats against MPs, she warned.
“Mbalula’s statements are bizarre to someone like me who lives with being told she is going to be killed. The statement also says we must vote blindly.”
Khoza said she was speaking up because it was wrong for intellectuals to keep quiet amid wrongdoings by others.
“I was jailed when I was 14, I was widowed when I was 28, I have in the past lost my life, and nothing will ever make me (do anything).
Khoza warned that the ANC was “bleeding to death”.