RUSTENBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JULY 25: Jossey Buthane during the party's 2nd anniversary on July 25, 2015 at Olympia stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa. Hundreds of EFF supporters flocked the stadium to celebrate the second-year anniversary of the party. (Photo by Gallo Images / Thapelo Maphakela)
Former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) provincial chair Jossey Buthane might have defected to the ANC, but the EFF management is seemingly not aware that he has returned to his original political home.
Buthane was warmly welcomed back to the ANC at the Solomon Mahlangu Memorial Lecture in Polokwane on Sunday.
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The lecture was delivered by ANC Limpopo party provincial secretary Reuben Madadzhe, together with ANC Peter Mokaba regional chair John Mpe, who is also mayor of Polokwane.
He returned to the ANC along with 400 former EFF members from other regions.
The event was viewed by many as one of the biggest blows for the EFF in the province since its formation in 2013.
Buthane joined the EFF three months after leaving the ANC, where he had served as ANC youth league provincial secretary.
ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) spokesperson Jimmy Machaka described Buthane as a seasoned cadre.
“He is a well-experienced politician and he will add a positive value in the body politic of the ANC, including during these upcoming elections,” said Machaka.
EFF provincial chair Tshilidzi Maraga said the party was unable to comment on the matter “since there is nothing tangible on my desk or in our office to qualify a comment in this matter”.
Asked if he has formally resigned from the EFF, Buthane said: “I do not need permission from anyone to go back to the ANC. They will have to deal with the fact that I have moved on.
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“My duty now is to make sure I rejoin a team of hard-working men and women of the ANC in their quest to bring much-needed services to the people of Limpopo, not tomorrow or next week, but today.
“My primary objective is to make sure that all those who left the ANC for any reason are back in the ANC.”
But others were more cynical about his political change of heart.
An activist, Kagiso Sekokotla of Lephepane said: “He was disbanded by the commander-in-chief Julius Malema for failing to swell EFF votes in 2021.
“During the same period under his helm, the EFF lost 25 council seats.
“Now that he has no position in the EFF, he deflects back to the ANC – the same ANC that a few months ago he claimed he hated with a passion.”
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