KZN ANC chairperson Sihle Zikalala at the ANC 104 celebration held in Rustenburg on 09 January 2016. Picture: Refilwe Modise
ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Sihle Zikalala, a staunch supporter of presidential candidate Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, took a swipe at ANC eThekwini regional chairperson Thembo Ntuli at comments he made linking the other presidential hopeful, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, to the Marikana massacre.
According to a report in The Star, the ferocious ANC succession battle yesterday took an interesting turn when Zikalala defended Ramaphosa against insults that linked him to the massacre of mineworkers at Marikana five years ago.
Zikalala tore into his provincial colleague during the ANC Youth League’s 73rd rally at Mlazi. During the rally, various KZN leaders continued with their known criticism of singling out Ramaphosa as an instigator of the massacre where 34 miners were gunned down in 2012 during former police commissioner Riah Phiyega’s first few months in office.
It is reported Zikalala took exception to Ntuli’s attack on Ramaphosa when he addressed the rally prior to his address. He is said to have requested ANC members to be tolerant of each other “because all candidates are members of the ANC, and we need them to be elected to the national executive committee”.
READ MORE: Marikana continues to haunt Ramaphosa
Ntuli is said to have warned Ramaphosa to stop “provoking a snake in its hole”.
“That man wants to be the president at all costs, and when he realises that his campaign is failing, he refers to the young people as stupid. We are not stupid; we are ready for you, and we have not forgotten that you did in Marikana.
“We must remind you, Cyril Ramaphosa, that you killed people in Marikana,” Ntuli is reported to have said, and continued to say Ramaphosa should emulate Dlamini-Zuma by disassociating himself from party supporters who disrupt ANC gatherings.
“Comrade Dlamini-Zuma has said no one should disrupt ANC meetings in her name. She said whether she is elected or not, she will remain in the ANC, and in 2019 she will be campaigning for the ANC. But I don’t hear what others are saying. It would be better if they can come out and be clear on this matter too,” he reportedly told the rally, and said he was unapologetic about his remarks on Ramaphosa.
“The Marikana utterances made earlier are wrong … There was an investigation into the Marikana massacre, and the report was handed to the president, who is implementing the recommendations. Therefore, we should not campaign by badmouthing other candidates. We should not celebrate when other leaders are facing troubles,” Zikalala is reported to have said.
Ramaphosa himself told another ANCYL anniversary rally in Gauteng on the same day: “The ANC today needs the imagination, foresight and political clarity of the youth league of 1994; we don’t want youthful leaders who are stupid.”
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