MK vets rebuff conference

OPPOSING GROUPS: EXPECTED TO JOIN FORCES Military veterans association denies it was disbanded.

Lawyers representing the uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) have written to the ANC, demanding the outcomes of the veterans inclusive conference be nullified or face court action.

The conference held last month in East London was meant to bring together two opposing sides of ANC military veterans – the MKMVA and the MK National Council.

The two organisations were disbanded last year to pave the way for the inclusive conference to unite the veterans.

The conference, under the unity name MK War Liberation Veterans, reportedly got off to a shaky start at the East London International Convention Centre. The delegates didn’t elect new leaders, but pledged to work towards uniting former combatants and the renewal of the party.

MKMVA spokesperson Carl Niehaus attended the conference, but was told he could not enter or take part, as he tested positive for Covid.

The late Kebby Maphatsoe, a former deputy minister of defence, led the MKMVA which is widely seen as a mouthpiece for former president Jacob Zuma.

Under his political direction, the MKMVA became an integral component of the ANC and even held its own elective conference.

However, a military credentials verification process held ahead of the East London conference found that thousands of members, including Niehaus, never had combat training under the former ANC military wing, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK).

According to a City Press report, MKMVA told ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile through attorneys Phosa Loots, they have withdrawn from the East London conference and lodged a grievance.

“It is our instruction further that our clients do not recognise and acknowledge the outcomes and decisions taken by the ANC in the conference…

“Our clients further do not recognise and acknowledge the conference in its entirety,” read the letter from Andries Nkome of Phosa Loots Attorneys.

Nkome demanded an undertaking from Mashatile’s office to declare the conference and its decisions be nullified.

Mashatile is running the office after deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, who took over from suspended Ace Magashule, fell ill last year.

The MKMVA is adamant it was never disbanded, that it continues to exist, guided by its constitution.