Mpumalanga EFF secretary expelled from party

Suspended Economic Freedom Fighters Mpumalanga provincial secretary and member of the provincial legislature Alfred Skhosana on Sunday confirmed he has been expelled from the EFF.

“I have received a letter from them [EFF national leaders] that says I have been expelled,” said Skhosana.

“I’m not shaken by the expulsion. I have been expecting it and they must remember that their decision to expel me does not mean the end of my political career. I’m a leader in my own right. I welcome the decision. I’m very clear about my next direction as a leader,” he said.

Last month, Skhosana told the African News Agency (ANA) that the EFF’s national leadership suspended him on February 28 for allegedly submitting a shoddy organisational report in his capacity as provincial secretary. He vowed at the time that if the EFF expelled him he would take it to court.

Skhosana said his threat to litigate the EFF was inspired by the fact that the party did not give him enough time to prepare for a disciplinary hearing, which he said took place on March 14 at its head office in Braamfontein in Johannesburg. He said the charge against him was baseless. The EFF should have asked him to correct the alleged shoddy report instead of suspending and charging him.

On Sunday, Skhosana said he would appeal the expulsion internally and then challenge it in court if the appeal failed.

He joined the EFF in 2012 from the African National Congress Youth League, where he was serving in its Nkangala regional task team in Mpumalanga. He was sworn in as the EFF’s MPL in June 2015, replacing Ayanda Tshabalala, who broke ranks with the EFF and joined the ANC.

EFF secretary general Godrich Gardee would neither confirm nor deny Skhosana’s expulsion on Sunday evening, and referred enquiries to EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, whose phone rang unanswered. Ndlozi also did not respond to an sms enquiry sent to his phone.

– African News Agency (ANA)

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