ANC NEC blames Fikile Mbalula for MK Party saga

The ANC NEC leadership has been criticised by its members for failing to protect the organisation after it’s failed bid to get the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) deregistered.

The ANC approached the Electoral Court in an attempt to have the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party deregistered. However, the case was dismissed by Judge Lebogang Modiba, saying the ANC had no basis to have the party deregistered.

According to the Independent Online, the blame has been put on secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s head, whose office is responsible for ensuring such embarrassments do not happen.

‘MK LIBERATION WAR VETERANS FAILED US,’ SAYS ANC NEC MEMBER

“The leadership will ignore anyone after they are elected. When you give advice, you are seen as a contender for the next conference. Anyone understanding electoral laws would have known that we had no case at all,” said the member who did not want to be named.

“The leadership knew that the window to object was there but because of lack of focus the door was closed. When the threat became obvious, they ran to court,” the member said.

They said NEC members blamed the ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe Liberation War Veterans (MKLWV) as guardians to safeguard the movement’s heritage.

‘FIKILE MBALULA HAS TWO DEPUTIES FOR MONITORING’

The NEC member allegedly said that a complete inward focus and pettiness had resulted in the ruling party’s failure and public humiliation.

“Had the MKLWV allowed Commissar Castro to roll out the heritage programme as agreed at the East London conference, we would have avoided this embarrassing issue. There’s a cost for incompetence, worse when hidden behind arrogance, unfortunately,” the member said.

They said Mbalula had two deputies responsible for elections and monitoring and the National Working Committee (NWC), which meets every Monday.

‘REGISTRATION OF MK PARTY WAS KNOWN EARLY,’ NEC MEMBER SAYS

“The registration of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party was known early. Did the Secretary-General’s Office (SGO) submit an item for discussion to the National Working Committee? Who was monitoring the registration of political parties with the IEC in the SGO?” the member asked.

“If the National Working Committee was never reported to, the SGO slept on duty. If the National Working Committee discussed the matter informally or formally, what was the decision?” they asked.

ANC national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, said they had always known that the ruling could go either way.

“It is incorrect to want to apportion the blame on the secretary-general or the SGO. As the ANC we know nothing about these claims,” Bhengu-Motsiri said.