Magashule still has a few Aces up his sleeve

Moves to have him reinstated on the cards

THE ANC under President Cyril Ramaphosa faces a major backlash for its decision to suspend secretary-general Ace Magashule, from the biggest party region in KwaZulu-Natal and supporters of North West suspended ANC MP and former premier, Supra Mahumapelo.

Yesterday, Mahumapelo lodged a veiled attack against the ANC top brass for its decision to suspend Magashule, saying the move was in conflict with the Constitution, which stated you were innocent until proven guilty.

Magashule was served with a suspension letter on Monday last week, after having charges of fraud and corruption laid against him in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court in November last year.

In March this year, the ANC national executive council urged all those senior members charged with criminal offences or corruption to step aside or face suspension.

The party gave all implicated individuals 30 days to step aside, but Magashule and ANC MP and former state security minister Bongani Bongo failed to comply with the order.

The two were served with suspension letters last Monday. Two days later, Magashule also served ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa with a letter of suspension, saying he had also been named in acts of wrongdoing, but the ANC NEC rejected Magashule’s letter.

Magashule and Bongo were also barred from participating in the NEC meeting over the weekend.

Leaked audio from the virtual NEC meeting revealed that former president Thabo Mbeki also urged members to seriously consider the submissions made by Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha and ANC Women’s League leader Bathabile Dlamini and secretary-general Meokgo Motuba about the state of the ANC. Mathabatha raised the issue of hatred among ANC members within the party.

Mathabatha urged the party to consider holding a retreat for two or three days to deal with the differences within their ranks.

Mbeki said the ANC must discuss whether there was still an organisation called the ANC. He urged his fellow NEC members to take to heart the comment made by Mathabatha and the Women’s League duo, Dlamini and Motuba, who were adamant that the ANC “was about to collapse”.

Despite Magashule’s absence at the meeting, his supporters lodged a fight back at the virtual meeting by calling for a discussion on Ramaphosa’s purported “suspension”.

Leading the charge was the ANC’s Dakota Legoete – a close ally of Magashule – who urged Ramaphosa, in another meeting clip leaked to the media, to be the leader of the ANC and not “president of a faction”.

Mahumapelo and 68 branches of ANC in eThekwini region yesterday sang from the same hymn sheet.

In his address to the North West Pastors’ Forum, Mahumapelo was very critical of his party’s decision to suspend Magashule, asking what it would do if Magashule was acquitted in a court.

“Some of the ANC’s resolutions taken at the national conference are in conflict with the laws of the republic. Let us not judge them while facing charges in court.

“What will happen if they are acquitted on all charges against them?” Mahumapelo asked.

He was accompanied by various ANC leaders in North West and members of the ANC Youth League in Ngaka Modiri region. In KZN, 68 branches lodged a twin campaign in favour of Magashule and Zuma.

In their statement, read by Ntando Khuzwayo, chairperson of the Gedleyihlekisa sub-region, they called for the disbandment of the ANC’s NEC.

Khuzwayo said that most ANC members in their region were calling for the reinstatement of Magashule, or otherwise the disbandment of the ANC NEC.