VRYHEID: ‘DA vs ANC bribery case’ struck off the roll

Lolo Madonsela

The bribery case that was opened against three high-ranking ANC Mzala Nxumalo members by DA Councillor Magda Viktor was struck off the roll last week in the Vryheid Magistrate’s Court.
The trio of Zakes Buthelezi, Maria Mabaso and Nkosikhona Mdlalose were nabbed by the Hawks at Vryheid Junction in December 2018 on allegations that they had offered a R20,000 bribe to Cllr Viktor to vote with the ANC against Speaker Michael Khumalo.
Mzala Nxumalo Regional Spokesperson Sipho Nkosi said they had always believed that the case lacked substance.
“The ANC in the region has always believed that the case lacked substance and would not stand the acid test in a court of law.
“This has been nothing but endeavours by the counter-revolutionaries to discredit the leadership of the ANC in the region by peddling such narrative to satisfy their handlers. We have always viewed this as attempts to unfocus the ANC from fighting the plague of corruption that infests municipalities that are misgoverned by the IFP, assisted by the DA and EFF,” said Nkosi.
He also said that, “Our comrades have finally been vindicated by a court of law against the backdrop of them being nailed, crucified and prosecuted by kangaroo courts.
This most welcome judgment comes at a time when the ANC needs all its machinery and forces on the ground as we gear up for the local government elections.
“It will ensure that the leadership is fully focused on its core mandate, which is to free the people of Zululand from the current lacklustre leadership who have no heart to service our people, but are hellbent on squandering resources meant for our people. The ANC remains committed to freeing the people of Zululand through the ballot and ensuring that service delivery is expedited.” The Regional ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) echoed Nkosi’s sentiments and cited that the case against the trio was politically motivated.

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“The ANCWL in the region would like to welcome the outcome of the court ruling in the case, which was politically motivated. It has been 11 months since they were accused, and their political leadership was tainted for a long time. As the ANCWL, we wish to appreciate the manner in which our leadership has complied and respected our Constitution by understanding that the person is ‘innocent until proven guilty’. They have been undergoing various jurisdictions on the matter until today’s judgment, where the court ruled in their favour that all three of our leaders were falsely accused and found not guilty. This will assist the ANC to move on and focus on its organisational programmes and also the 2021 Local Government Elections, with the aim of winning the Zululand District Municipality, as the community of Zululand has always been waiting for. As the ANCWL, we will work hard in making sure that the ANC achieves its goal to win the District by intensifying our campaign to mobilise women to vote for the ANC in the next elections,” stated Mzala Nxumalo ANCWL Regional Secretary Phumzile Selepe. DA Provincial Spokesperson Zwakele Mncwango said the court outcome came as a shock to them, but was not in a position to give details, as they have not yet seen the judgment papers. Mncwango added that they were still in consultation with their legal team and were looking into appealing the court’s decision.
“This outcome leaves a picture that says we can report these kinds of crimes, but we then do not have much say on the outcome. This was a watertight case; with the accused caught red-handed offering money to the councillor and were arrested by the Hawks. We smell a rat in all of this, but we still need to see the court papers to know exactly on which grounds it was struck off. This outcome does not, however, mean that the accused are not guilty. They must enjoy this honeymoon, but they are not yet free, because we are not going to let this go,” he said.

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