Malema was right, Mbete defied the ANC – report

National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete has reportedly defended her decision to allow a secret ballot in the vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma, telling ANC MPs it was not her job to shield the ANC.

Ahead of the no-confidence motion, the ANC held a meeting, with EFF leader Julius Malema claiming ANC secretary-General Gwede Mantashe was “extremely angry” with Mbete for having gone against the ANC party line and decided to allow the secret vote.

The party had apparently agreed on an open ballot.

“Before you call me a liar, you should have called for more information. The ANC officials resolved on open ballot, and she announced secret,” said Malema at the time.

Now the Sunday Times has reported that the speaker told the meeting that she could not be expected to act only in the interests of the party when exercising her duties as speaker.

Several MPs who reportedly spoke to the publication said Mbete defended her decision following calls from Zuma’s backers for the ruling party to discipline the more than 30 MPs who voted against the president and for her to explain her decision.

The speaker reportedly told chief whip Jackson Mthembu that her job required her to go beyond acting in the interests of the ruling party, saying she chose to listen to the views of the 11 million South Africans who voted for the ANC.

“The speaker said if citizens raise issues and we ignore them, they are not going to vote for us in future elections,” one MP was quoted as saying.

Following the vote, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula suggested “in jest” that ANC MPs should take lie-detector tests to identify who voted against the president. Mantashe was, however, against the idea, as the witch-hunt would apparently tear the party apart.

However, the party’s spin doctor Zizi Kodwa said the ANC supported Mbete’s decision, while Mbete’s spokesperson could not comment “on a rumour relating to a closed meeting of a political party”.