ANC Limpopo chair not joining MK party

The Limpopo ANC dispells allegations that it’s provincial chairperson and premier, Chupu Stanley Mathabatha has followed former President Jacob Zuma to join the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party.

uMkhonto we Sizwe is a Xhosa, Zulu and Ndebele name meaning the spear of the nation, abbreviated as (MK). It was a paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) and was founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre.

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Mathabatha has since been associated with the party by a circulating poster which has been doing the rounds in the province and beyond weeks before the ANC’s January 8 anniversary at Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit last Saturday.

The controversial poster (pictures) bears Mathabatha’s photo claiming the province’s number one have since joined the party and that he was only waiting for the right time to make pronouncement about his allergeancy.

The poster says in part:

“He has joined Umkhonto we Sizwe. He is just waiting for the January 8 party to be over. He is not even seen on the ground in Mpumalanga. Even during a meeting of the provincial chairs with Ramaphosa, he never attended”

In light of this, the ANC in the province did not waste time to dispell the allegations. Hardly two days after Mbombela, the party released a statement nullifying the allegations saying they were concocted by those harbouring malicious intentions to tarnish Mathabatha’s political image.

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“The African National Congress in Limpopo has learned of a misleading poster
circulating on social media, falsely asserting that provincial chairperson, comrade
Chupu Stanley Mathabatha has joined the MK party,” Limpopo ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) spokesperson, Mathole Jimmy Machaka said yesterday.

He continued: “The Limpopo ANC unequivocally condemn this deceptive poster,” he said.

“The poster does not represent the current state of affairs. We rejects attempts to associate the provincial chairperson with MK party. The ANC views this malicious poster as an intentional effort to cast doubt on the integrity and commitment of the chairperson to the unity and renewal of
the African National Congress. Comrade Chupu Mathabatha remains a steadfast member and leader of the ANC, and we urge ANC members and the public not to be misled by this baseless and anonymous poster,” added Machaka.

Attempts to solicit comment from Mathabatha on Saturday were not successful as he was allegedly busy at the Makgobaskloof bus accident that claimed the lives of five ANC members at the time they were traveling to Mbombela.