“Those who want me to go must forget about it”
Lungani Zungu
ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule says he is going nowhere, brushing off the Integrity Commission’s findings that he must step aside with immediate effect.
Magashule and his troops are defiant, saying he’ll stay in place until the ANC branches tell him to go.
“I was elected by the branches of the ANC and they’re the only ones who can remove me. Those who want me to go must forget about it,” Magashule told Scrolla.Africa.
The ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is the only structure that has powers to recall a secretary general, which is a full-time elected position.
The NEC, through the integrity commission, has recommended that Magashule be suspended pending the outcome of his fraud and corruption case.
Magashule said he was being targeted in a “political war”.
The party has said that no special NEC meeting would be convened to discuss his fate.
Party spokesperson Pule Mabe said that for now Magashule would continue with his duties.
Mabe said the only special NEC meeting scheduled is in January – to discuss the party’s birthday celebrations in Limpopo on 8 January.
Magashule’s die-hard supporters are adamant he will complete his term which finishes in 2022. They vowed to vote for him as the next president of the ANC.
President of uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Kebby Maphatsoe took a jab at the Integrity Commission, saying most of its members lacked integrity.
“We will support our SG because it’s clear that the wolves are out to maul him,” Maphatsoe told Scrolla.Africa.
The chairperson of the Integrity Commission, George Mashamba, declined to comment.
Picture source: @magashule_ace
