ANC SECRETARY-general Fikile Mbalula has explained why the party decided to postpone former president Jacob Zuma’s disciplinary hearing meant to have taken place yesterday, saying it was out of security concerns.
However, political analysts believe the party moved the hearing until after the elections because they wanted to save face, fearing giving the uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP) party a campaigning platform at the ANC’s backdoor.
Last week Thursday, ‘The Star’ reported that Zuma was given notice to appear before the party’s disciplinary committee on Tuesday (yesterday) to face two charges.
Count 2 statesthat Zuma had contravened rule 25.17.13 of the ANC constitution for joining or supporting a political organisation other than one that is in alliance with the ANC.
In December last year Zuma, who is now the leader of MKP and the party’s face on the ballot on May 29, announced that he would not be campaigning for the ANC, but rather for the MKP.
Zuma was suspended in January after publicly announcing his support for the MKP and is now number one on the party’s election list.
He has maintained that he is still a member of the ANC despite his assertions that he would be supporting MKP in the upcoming elections.
MKP spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, told Newzroom Afrika that Zuma would be ready and available to face the charges, saying that the party would gather outside Luthuli House in support of Zuma.
This, according to political analyst Professor Susan Booysen, while speaking on eNCA on Monday.
Mbalula, at a press conference on Sunday confirmed that he had written a letter to the ANC disciplinary committee to postpone the meeting after a security assessment proved that they might trigger violence before the elections, however the hearing went.
“It sometimes seems that the ANC itself doesn't know what is going on … because there has been a lot of falling apart. Which has been interpreted as weakness and indecisiveness,” Booysen said.
“On the eve of elections a big party like the ANC should not be associated with this kind of thing.”
She said the party seemed not to have made their decision which has now forced them to do some backtracking.
The ANC is falling in public perception where it's not making a strong decisive impression, she said.
The MKP is benefiting in some ways because we see Zuma and his MKP playing it by their own rules.
“First they said that they would be there to support Zuma in their masses … and it's something that should have been foreseen by the ANC in their decision making processes.
“The MKP would have been there anyway. So they're still going to make the optics, they are still going to make the speeches etc … and probably make free remarks about the ANC not knowing how to handle this. And they will be interpreting it in terms of their own narratives with Zuma claiming to be enjoying dual membership.
“The ANC seems to be reluctant. So this is a campaign platform that they will use very favourably at a time of reports that the MKP is going through its own problems like the legal battles.”
Booysen was referring to challenges the MKP has been going through itself, most recently being MKP founder Jabulani Khumalo asking that the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) remove Zuma from the ballot. This emerged on social media on Tuesday.
The Star