Mbalula: It is very painful to see your own comrades being arrested

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has said it is painful to see senior ANC leaders being arrested for corruption.

The ANC will not stand behind the accused in court

Mbalula was speaking at the 31^st anniversary of the death of SACP and ANC stalwart Chris Hani in Ekurhuleni.

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“It is very painful to see your very own comrades being arrested for graft. It is very painful, it’s not a nice thing,” he said.

Mbalula said the ANC would no longer go to court with party t-shirts to show support for members facing serious crimes in court.

“The time when a comrade is arrested for corruption and we wear t-shirts, go to court and sing freedom songs its over in the ANC. It will not happen again,” he said.

He said it was also disturbing to see former president Jacob Zuma being incarcerated in a democratic country that he fought for.

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“Even with Zuma it was very painful. Imagine seeing an old man, worst of all a freedom fighter, going into prison at 12 at night and then him being incarcerated,” Mbalula said.

Mbalula said the ANC had employed the step-aside rule to deal with members of the party who had been found wanting by the law.

His comments come days after former Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, was arrested for corruption and money laundering.

The ANC has been criticised for not taking a clear stance on the arrest of the speaker.

Instead, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said Mapisa-Nqakula had done the honorable thing by resigning as the Speaker of Parliament.

Mbalula encouraged ANC councilors and members to go out into communities to campaign for the ANC and share the message of the ANC’s achievements over the years.

He said it was difficult for the ANC to be accountable in the municipalities where they share power with other political parties.