Khoza hits back at ANC over charges
Accuses the party of selective justice, targeting her
DESPITE being slapped with multiple disciplinary charges, ANC MP Makhosi Khoza remained defiant yesterday and accused the party of selective justice and targeting her.
Khoza said there were other leaders who spoke publicly about the removal of President Jacob Zuma but were not charged.
“In the recent past, several senior ANC officials including MPs have publicly raised their concerns regarding our president. No action has been taken against those individuals,” Khoza said in a statement she posted on her Facebook page.
“As a lifelong and loyal member of the ANC, I respect the processes of the organisation and I will attend the disciplinary hearing as is required. I do, however, have significant reservations as to the fairness I can expect of the process, considering senior leaders within the ANC publicly calling for my dismissal,” she said.
Khoza said she will attend the disciplinary hearing on September 10 in Durban.
The ANC yesterday denied it was selective in its disciplinary process.
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said Khoza had been charged for not heeding the many calls to toe the party line.
“The issue is her conduct. She violated everything the ANC stood for. She displayed flagrant arrogance,” said Kodwa.
He said Khoza did not listen to requests to stop making public statements that were not in the interests of the ANC.
“There were many others but they were spoken to and they never repeated them,” he said.
“That is besides what she said. There are many who said that and she is not the first to say it,” he said.
According to the charge sheet, Khoza breached 11 party rules, including being “disrespectful to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive committee”.
The document stated Khoza made her statements outside structures of the organisation. “You refused and/or failed to use the opportunity provided by national policy conference, which you attended to legitimately raise your views on the platform provided. Instead you preferred to use public media to do so,” read part of the charge sheet.
It went on to say a “significant” part of her statements were public attacks on the ANC and its leadership, which was contrary to its culture and tradition.
“Your conduct was dismissive and/or defiant of the process and authority of the ANC decision-making mechanism,” read the charge sheet.
On her disrespecting the ANC in KZN, the charge sheet said Khoza had been “dismissive and defiant of the political authority of a recognised structure of the organisation”.
The ANC KZN said Khoza had 14 days to interact with the disciplinary committee to agree on a date and venue for her disciplinary hearing, said ANC provincial spokesperson in KZN Mdumiseni Ntuli.
“The pace will be determined by the level of interaction between her and the disciplinary committee,” said Ntuli.
He did not want to speculate on what would happen to Khoza if she voted in support of the motion of no confidence in Zuma on August 8.
Kodwa said Khoza would remain an MP and attend to her parliamentary work.
He said Khoza took an oath of membership when she joined the ANC which expected her to be loyal, respect and abide by the decisions of the party.
“She violated her oath of membership. She should have known,” he said.
“Why is she doing that to her own organisation? What inspires her? Why does she think she is above the organisation?”
He said Khoza had betrayed the trust the ANC had in her. “We trust the MPs. They must not abuse Parliament. She betrayed us. Her organisation said whatever the decision the Speaker decides on it will support it, whether secret ballot or not. But the ANC will not vote with the opposition. They won’t do that,” said Kodwa.
Khoza said she refused to accept protection from Parliament and the SAPS because they were lax in their approach when she reported the death threats made to her three months ago. She had arranged private protection.