Major Ace fight back on cards with support of 68 KZN branches
A MAJOR push is on the cards for the re-instatement of suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, allegedly engineered in Kwazulu-natal and North West under suspended ANC MP and former premier Supra Mahumapelo.
Yesterday, Mahumapelo lodged a veiled attack against the ANC top leadership for its decision to suspend Magashule, saying the move was not in line with the Constitution of the land.
Magashule was served with a suspension letter on Monday last week following charges of fraud and corruption laid against him in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court in November last year.
In March, the ANC national executive committee (NEC) urged all senior members charged with criminal offences to step aside or face suspension – and gave them 30 days to do so.
In leaked recordings of a virtual NEC meeting held recently, former president Thabo Mbeki could be heard urging members to seriously consider the submissions made by Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabathe, ANC Women’s League leader Bathabile Dlamini and secretary-general Meokgo Motuba about the state of the ANC.
Mathabathe had raised the issue of hatred among ANC members within the party. He asked the party to consider holding a retreat for two or three days to deal with differences with their party.
Also speaking up at the meeting was Dakota Legoete, a close ally of Magashule, urging President Cyril Ramaphosa, in clips of the meeting leaked to the media, to become a leader of the ANC and not “president of a faction”.
Commenting on the impasse in the ANC, political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga said: “They (ANC NEC) have been pushed into a corner with no other way than to escalate this to show they are resolute on the decision they have taken.
“That does not mean the backlash ends right here. Certainly, if you say to someone they are fired and they come back the next day – you then change the locks. They have just changed the locks; the question is what will be next?”
Despite Magashule’s absence at the meeting, those in support of him launched a fight back in the virtual NEC meeting by calling for a discussion on Ramaphosa’s purported “suspension”.
Meanwhile, Mahumapelo and 68 ANC branches in the ethekwini region yesterday sang from the same hymn sheet. They shared Magashule’s sentiments that every cadre accused of or reported to be involved in corrupt practices accounts to the Integrity Committee immediately or face DC processes, not only those charged in criminal courts.
In his address to the North West Pastors’ Forum, Mahumapelo, who was accompanied by various ANC leaders in the North West and members of the ANC Youth League in the Ngaka Modiri region, was very critical of his party’s decision to suspend Magashule, saying “what will the party do if Magashule was acquitted in a court of law?”
“Some ANC resolutions taken at the national conference are in conflict with the laws of the Republic. Let’s not judge them while facing charges in court. What will happen if they are acquitted on all charges against them?” he asked.