Khoza in the hot seat

IN THE space of a little more than two weeks, outspoken ANC MP Makhosi Khoza has been called a suicide bomber and accused of behaving like a runaway fire – by the top hierarchy of her own party. What it boils down to is that her ANC membership is hanging by a thread.

What Khoza has done is politically unusual: she has launched stinging attacks on the president of her own party – and that of South Africa.

Fearlessly, and some would say foolishly, she has stood up, on numerous public platforms, and questioned the morality of Jacob Zuma, sided with those who have accused him of corruption and called for him to step down or be voted out in the motion of no-confidence debate on August 8.

So strongly does Khoza feel about Zuma that she recently wrote to Speaker Baleka Mbete, asking her to allow voting following the debate to be done via secret ballot.

In a parliamentary system where party discipline is paramount, Khoza’s actions would be regarded as way out of line – by any of the parties.

The irony is that her chances of taking part in the debate are probably nil.

She will probably be recalled by the ANC in her home province, KwaZulu-Natal, within the next few days.

The last straw as far as party bosses were concerned was on Tuesday, when she joined some of Zuma’s fiercest critics in calling for him to step down.

ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa described her behaviour as gross disrespect for the party’s disciplinary code.

“If you are a loyal member of the ANC, you could raise some of your concerns internally in the organisation,” he said. “You can’t behave like a runaway fire.” The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal accused Khoza of being arrogant, and revealed that it would institute disciplinary measures against her.

Many South Africans might view it as ridiculous that she is about to be punished for shouting out against corruption less than 24 hours after her would-be wielders of the axe, the ANC, agreed to organise security to protect her against people angry with her anti-Zuma utterances.