Suspended African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule will have to face the party’s top leaders to explain his appearance alongside former President Jacob Zuma and his comments calling on structures to defy the organization.
The terms of Magashule’s suspension prevent him from making public utterances about the party.
He’s not allowed to even speak to ANC members, let alone perform any duties from his office or mobilize in the party.
Following a special sitting of their national executive committee (NEC) meeting, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte has on Tuesday confirmed the party wants him to explain himself.
Magashule has been at odds with the ANC since his suspension, appearing only by Zuma’s side and taking the organization to court.
Zuma is fighting his 15-month prison sentence, which was handed down by the Constitutional Court last week.
Magashule in his fight against the ANC only seems to make public appearances, alongside Zuma.
He did it twice in Pietermaritzburg, and again this weekend in Nkandla, often to speak to crowds, even though he knows this is against the terms of his suspension.
His recent comments calling for defiance have pushed him further towards an expulsion, with the ANC launching numerous investigations against him.
Duarte said no structures had been dissolved for factional purposes.
“It’s actually trying to create an atmosphere, which we’ve understood to be part of the general atmosphere of creating discord,” she said.
While she refused to confirm for sure if Magashule was to be hauled before a disciplinary process, she explained that this was an internal matter.
“The ANC has the right to prevent people from being ill-disciplined by using its rules, and the people who are ill-disciplined also have a right to explain themselves in a manner that is not coloured in any way,” Duarte said.
Magashule and the ANC are also awaiting court outcomes after he challenged the suspension, and asked the court to rubber-stamp the letter of suspension he unilaterally issued to ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa.
-EWN
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