Dr Khoza: I’ll only return to the ANC if you charge Jacob Zuma

Khoza's condition for returning to the ANC was supported by ANC presidential hopeful Lindiwe Sisulu.

Former ANC MP Makhosi Khoza. Picture: Gallo Images

Former ANC dissident MP Dr Makhosi Khoza, who yesterday announced her resignation from the ANC, has not completely ruled out the possibility of returning to the party she joined at age 12 during the height of Apartheid.

In a Morning Live debate with ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa, who accused Khoza of quitting the ruling party after failing to be appointed a Cabinet minister, she emphatically told Kodwa her main gripe was Luthuli House’s reluctance to charge Zuma.

Khoza reiterated it remained her strongest conviction that if the party took disciplinary action against members in involved in corruption, more than 80% of them would swap their “shiny suits and dresses” for prison uniform, “where they naturally belong”.

Khosa argued her track record of speaking truth to power dated back to her days as the chairperson of KwaZulu-Natal legislature’s standing committee on public accounts. She conceded her utterances that a corrupt official at Mgungundlovu Municipality must resign led to her “demotion”.

Kodwa managed to momentarily stop Khoza from “dropping files” (in host Leanne Manas’ words) when he indicated that in terms of ANC’s constitution, the former MP should have waited for her resignation to be processed by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe before speaking about the issue in public.

Kodwa reminded Khoza she was born in the ANC, and like many members who renounced their membership of the organisation, she would be welcome whenever she changed her mind. A discourteous Khoza, betrayed by her facial expression, countered she did not join the ANC, the brand, but joined it for its values, which it had abandoned.

Manas, who would later reveal she felt like a divorce lawyer throughout the interview, which saw the broadcaster forego its 7am news broadcast, asked Khoza what it would take for the ANC for get her to return to the ruling party.

“Charge the president. Comrade Zizi, I can help you. I have the read the entire section 25 of the ANC’s constitution. It talks about bringing the party into disrepute. I can help you draft the charges [if the ANC is battling],” she told a bewildered Kodwa.

Meanwhile, ANC presidential hopeful and Housing Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu expressed regret at Khoza’s decision last night in a conversation with eNCA’s Vuyo Mvoko, saying she missed an opportunity to have a conversation with her in a bid to persuade her to stay within the party.

Sisulu said she would pick up where Khoza had left off, and would not be bullied. She sympathised with Khoza’s decision to remove herself from the ANC’s factional battles, as her children were also physically threatened. She said that rationale was quite understandable under the circumstances.

Eyewitness News reported this morning that Sisulu echoed Khoza’s sentiments, saying she did not understand why action has not been taken against Zuma. She emphasised Zuma should appear before a disciplinary hearing and, if found guilty, be suspended.