ANC leaders facing allegations of corruption and misconduct find comfort among comrades while the party sidesteps its renewal promises, writes Zukile Majova in Real Politics.
They say a picture can speak louder than words. That was true of the photograph showing suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu and former higher education minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane sharing a desk at the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting this week.
The 87-member NEC is spending four days at the Lakewood Hotel and Conference Centre in Ormonde. The official agenda is packed with discussions on local government, women’s month, gender-based violence, crime, energy, economic resilience, transformation laws, global trade tensions and the recent summit of Africa’s liberation movements.
But nowhere does the agenda mention ministers or leaders who have dragged the party’s name through the mud in recent weeks.
For ordinary South Africans, July has been dominated by the drama in the ANC and its shaky coalition government. And Mchunu is right at the centre.
Here is the man who was supposed to lead the fight against crime, now accused of actively undermining it. KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says Mchunu interfered in key investigations, especially those involving political killings and organised crime.
Mkhwanazi claims he has evidence of Mchunu’s link to controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who is tied to drug cartels in Gauteng and is currently on trial for allegedly trying to kill his former girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane.
Mchunu is also accused of disbanding a specialised unit investigating political assassinations. That team had started uncovering deep connections between politicians, police officials and businesspeople linked to drug trafficking. The disbandment forced 121 case dockets into storage at the office of Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya.
Then came the lies. Mchunu told Parliament he did not know Brown Mogotsi, later admitted he did, and was caught on a recorded interview discussing WhatsApp chats with him. Mogotsi allegedly influenced the decision to shut down the political killings unit.
All of this would shame any political party. Yet Mchunu is not a backbencher. He is part of the NEC and also the national working committee (NWC) – the small, powerful group of 20 members plus the ANC Top 7 that drives the party’s work.
By shielding him, the ANC is damaging itself. His presence makes it almost impossible for the party to have an honest discussion about the leadership of the South African Police Service or President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new commission of inquiry into the Mkhwanazi allegations.
For the NEC to tackle the matter seriously, they would have to exclude Mchunu from the meeting. But the party’s stance is that his problems are a government issue, not an ANC one.
Party secretary Fikile Mbalula spelt it out: “Ministers are members of parliament, so he is not suspended as a member of parliament. He will attend parliament and perform all the duties that are expected of him.”
In other words, no matter how serious the allegations, ANC ministers find safety and comfort among comrades.
Dr Nkabane, also pictured in that telling photograph, is another example. She was recently fired for misleading Parliament and treating MPs with contempt during committee hearings.
Then there is Deputy President Paul Mashatile. He is facing tough questions about his family’s R28.9-million Constantia mansion. Mashatile initially denied owning it, claiming it belonged to his son-in-law, Nceba Nonkwelo. But he later declared it in Parliament’s register of members’ interests.
He has also been found in breach of Parliament’s Code of Ethical Conduct for failing to disclose a diamond gift his wife Humile Mashatile received from controversial businessman Louis Liebenberg, who is facing charges linked to a multi-million rand diamond investment scheme. The ethics committee recommended a reprimand and a R10,000 fine.
And yet, for four days in Ormonde, the ANC’s most powerful figures can forget about “smallanyana skeletons”. In their world, scandal does not break the bond of comradeship.
This is the irony of a party that claims to be on a renewal drive – a renewal that supposedly seeks to remove leaders who tarnish the name of the 112-year-old movement. Instead, the photograph of Mchunu and Nkabane summed it all up: whatever shame they carry outside, inside the ANC, they are at home.
Pictured above: Senzo Mchunu with his comrades.
Image source: ANC
