Sparks expected to fly at ANC NEC meeting over Hanekom

As the ANC prepares to meet on Friday, the topic of party member Derek Hanekom is expected to be on the agenda. A number of opposing views are expected in the meeting as senior members will butt heads for a way forward regarding Hanekom.

Hanekom has become the centre of controversy after he admitted to meeting with the EFF to discuss the possibility of ousting then president Jacob Zuma through a motion of no confidence.

Party chairperson Gwede Mantashe will have to douse the fire resulting from an apparent rift between two sides within the ANC – with some calling for Hanekom’s expulsion, while others maintain he has done nothing wrong.

Party secretary-general Ace Magashule is one of those within the party to have labelled Hanekom an “EFF sleeper” and a “wedge driver” in a scathing statement.

The ANC’s Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association, who seconded Magashule’s sentiment, are expecting nothing less than expulsion from today’s meeting, arguing that Hanekom’s own “confession of his treachery and betrayal” was reason enough for the NEC to immediately remove Hanekom’s membership of the ANC.

Hanekom is expected to have an opportunity to explain his side of the story in an effort to clear his name.

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