KZN ANC purges government of members accused of ‘serious crimes’

The KwaZulu-Natal ANC has announced that all members charged with serious crimes must vacate their positions ahead of the conclusion of the cases against them, IOL has reported.

At a media briefing, the ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, Mdumeseni Ntuli, said this move aimed to show the party’s “commitment and determination to defend and advance the interests of our movement and that of the masses of our people”.

He was also quick to add that the move did not amount to “an acceptance of guilt” and was not meant to “cast aspersion on the innocence of the accused members of the African National Congress”.

“The reputation, integrity, and standing of the ANC is far more important than any of its individual leaders,” Ntuli said.

This follows major government figures in the province having been implicated in criminal cases.

READ MORE: Mayor, co-accused remanded in custody for Magaqa murder

Newcastle mayor Ntuthuko Mahlaba was recently arrested in connection with two separate cases.

According to eNCA, Mahlaba has been linked to the murder of ANCYL official Wandile Ngobeni, in addition to the attempted murder of another ANCYL leader named Mafika Ndamane.

The mayor faces charges of murder, attempted murder, and conspiring to commit murder.

Harry Gwala District mayor Mluleki Ndobe, meanwhile, was arrested last week in connection with the 2017 murder of former ANCYL secretary Sindiso Magaqa.

Following his appearance in the Umzimkhulu Magistrate Court on Monday, murder charges against Harry Gwala District mayor Mluleki Ndobe have been provisionally withdrawn, reportedly due to insufficient evidence.

Ntuli continued: “The PEC was very concerned that we have councillors who have been arrested since last week, some of them are ward councillors, which effectively means that they are incapable to discharge their responsibilities [to the public], and our view as the PEC was that you can’t be a public representative who is incapable of representing the public.

“It effectively means that if we retain the understanding that those comrades will remain as councillors of the ANC, we are actually doing a disservice to affected communities.

“The first thing that we said needs to be done is, we have encouraged the ANC caucuses to ensure in the meantime the PR councillors [are] deployed to serve the communities [that are now without councillors].”

ANC leaders had to be “beyond reproach” politically and socially, he said, and ensure that the perception of the governing party was the same. The PEC meeting grappled with how to strengthen and consolidate the image, stature, and reputation of the ANC, he said.

It was “neither here nor there” how the matter had been handled in the past, he said, if “the current leadership believes and is convinced that the best way to get out of the current malaise is to act in this way”.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman. Background reporting, Kaunda Selisho, ANA)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.