Defiant Ace Magashule ‘won’t be pushed’

AS THE battle in the fractious ANC intensified, an embattled Ace Magashule denied he was locked out of a virtual National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting following his suspension in the week after the party’s step-aside rule was enforced.

But a defiant Magashule told the media after he was locked out of the meeting that he was still the secretary-general (SG) of the ANC, and that he would continue to hold meetings and campaign for the ANC ahead of local government elections.

NEC member and a party spokesperson Dakota Legoete said that the “NEC has become a liability to the nation” and called for a special conference.

In a leaked audio recording from the meeting, Legoete said there were many people in the ANC facing corruption.

“I think the matters of the suspension letters must be made clear when we leave this meeting … We have reached the point (that) this NEC will become a liability to the nation and the structures. Narrow factions are not helping the movement,” said Legoete.

A staunch Ramaphosa ally Stan Mathabatha, who is also the Limpopo provincial chairperson and premier, came out in support of Ramaphosa.

“The president that we are having today is one of the best presidents that we have ever found in the ANC and we must support him, comrades. The problem that I see is that the comrades who run around plotting… run around dividing the ANC pursuing their personal and factional agendas in our provinces,” said Mathabatha.

He said there were people who were prepared to organise a meeting with the top five. “It’s depressing, comrade chairperson, this is our president and we will all defend him,” he said.

ANC Northern Cape chairperson Dr Zamani Saul also warned of more strife and chaos in the governing party over the implementation of the step-aside rule for leaders and members implicated in wrongdoing.

Tensions are set to continue today when branches in the powerful eThekwini region host a media briefing to unveil their plans regarding the imminent arrest of former President Jacob Zuma for defying the Constitutional Court order and the removal of Magashule from the NEC meeting.

Ntando Khuzwayo, the spokesperson for the branches convening the briefing, said that they would also speak on the implementation of the step-aside resolution. He, however, refused to divulge the exact details of their plans to support Magashule and Zuma but reiterated that the region’s branches were in full support of the embattled leaders.

Political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga said the suspension of Magashule indicated Ramaphosa’s push for power.

“There are those who are pushing for a different direction in the ANC under Ramaphosa, and this is setting him on a collision course with Zuma allies who feel displaced within the party. These tensions are about the shuffle for power and the direction of the ANC. There are multiple interests at play, and it is difficult to figure exactly where the likes of Mabuza stood in this complex unfolding scenario,” he said.

Magashule, who served as the Premier of Free State from 2009 until he was elected ANC SG in 2017, has been a subject of allegations of corruption. As a result, he was arrested in November and awaits trial.

Another political analyst, Ongama Mtimka, believes the Magashule supporters might attempt to claim their power back.

“The pro-Magashule group didn’t quite demobilise after Nasrec. So what we will see is an attempt to consolidate their power. This will be difficult without a firm control of the SG’s office and dwindling resources to aid their campaign, but one can’t rule them completely out,” Mtimka added.