ANC comrades Mbalula and Yengeni clash over Zuma case

Former ANC member of Parliament Tony Yengeni has alleged that the party’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, is attempting to intimidate him following his representation of Jacob Zuma at a disciplinary hearing.

Zuma’s disciplinary hearing was held virtually last week, and he has since been expelled from the ANC, a party he led for two terms. 

TONY YENGENI ACCUSES MBALULA OF INTIMIDATION

In an interview with the SABC, Yengeni said he received a text from Mbalula at the weekend asking him who he thinks he is and what he believes he is doing and accused him of trying to destroy the ANC for representing Zuma. 

Yengeni said that, under normal circumstances, he would have responded to Mbalula. Instead, he approached the NDC. 

“I chose not to respond to Mbalula because I was part of the process. So, I had to respect this process and not do things that would hamper it. 

“When we reconvened on the 23rd [July], I told them that Mbalula is trying to intimidate me or whatever the case may be. I didn’t fall into that trap,” he said. 

Yengeni said Mbalula went on a rampage to undermine him. However, the secretary-general could never intimidate him, he added. 

“The fact that they changed the venue of the hearing unilaterally without consulting Zuma from physical to virtual…he [Zuma] took it that they are interfering with his rights as a member of the ANC. 

“When Mbalula wrote the letter to the DC to say it’s because of security reasons before the elections, maybe people would understand that. But long after the elections, what security issues exist to stop a physical meeting? Zuma wanted to meet them physically, look them in the eye, and say, what is this? Let’s debate and discuss it as comrades. However, he was denied that opportunity,” Yengeni added. 

Further, Yengeni said Zuma’s view is that this hearing was convened for optics, but the decision that he must go was taken long ago.

CLASHES OVER THE YEARS

Over the years, Yengeni and Mbalula have clashed several times in public. Although they may be members of the same party, they definitely do not see eye to eye.

In June 2023, Mbalula, speaking at the ANC Western Cape conference, chided Premier Alan Winde over his comments regarding the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The International Criminal Court had issued a warrant of arrest for the Russian leader.

In his speech at the conference, Mbalula said: “I don’t know with which police he [Winde] thinks he can arrest Putin. He thinks these traffic cops who arrest Tony Yengeni for drunken driving can arrest Putin? He’s playing.”

The following month in a speech rebuking EFF leader Julius Malema, he sniped at Yengeni by labelling him “ungovernable” and touching on his past issues with alcohol.

“We were in a house when we taught Julius [Malema] economic freedom. I was with that ungovernable Tony Yengeni when we taught him [Malema] economic freedom. And that day Tony Yengeni was sober. Very sober,” Mbalula said in the video that was widely circulated on social media platforms.