ANC gags Mbalula over Zuma’s Nkandla fire pool comments

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has reportedly been gagged by the governing party following his comments about the fire pool at former president Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead.

Mbalula dropped a bombshell over a week ago while addressing members of the ANC at Mjindi Town Hall in Barberton, when he admitted that members of the ANC had lied to parliament about the Nkandla fire pool.

According to national executive committee (NEC) insiders, the ANC’s highest decision-making body believed Mbalula was campaigning against the party,” News24 reported.

Not the boss  

The members said there was a strong view within the NEC that Mbalula must be given guidelines before he’s allowed to talk to the media.

“We think he forgets that he is not our boss. The boss is the NEC, and the president is the main boss; we will discuss it at the next NEC meeting because we believe he is ‘de-campaigning’ the ANC. The office [of the secretary-general] is the highest office, and he must respect that,” an insider reportedly said.

ALSO READ: ‘We have protocols’ – Mbalula hits back at Mantashe for comments on Zuma and Nkandla

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe criticised Mbalula for his comments saying he was excited by the presence of journalists when he made the remarks about Zuma.

Mantashe said Mbalula “said things he should not have said” when he publicly admitted that the governing party lied to parliament and South Africans in defence of Zuma over the 2014 Nkandla scandal.

“I listened very carefully to what the secretary-general said. He is my secretary-general. I thought he was carried away by yourself, guys. He saw the cameras and got carried away and said things he should not have said,” said Mantashe.

ANC protocols

However, Mbalula did not take the criticism lying down and took a swipe at Mantashe saying the ANC had protocols.

“The national chair, we have protocols. I have been trying to get hold of him [Mantashe] the whole day, but I understand we’re in the field and I couldn’t get hold of him. We’ve got protocols, we don’t talk past each other, we don’t talk in the media and we don’t promote public spats,” said Mbalula.

North-West University political analyst Professor Andre Duvenhage said Mbalula, “a loyalist of Ramaphosa”, was trying to safeguard Ramaphosa using an “extremely counterproductive” approach which would not benefit the ANC or the president.

Duvenhage said this was just one of Mbalula’s announcements that were problematic.

ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘ANC not threatened by Zuma’s endorsement of MK, NEC will deal with it’ – Mbalula