ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule was in the middle of a pre-by-election door-to-door in Emdeni, Soweto (in the ANC’s safe Ward 130) on Tuesday afternoon when news broke that a warrant of arrest had been issued against him in relation to the R255-million asbestos audit in the Free State. 

Clad in a yellow raincoat and with black umbrellas shielding him from the rain, he told a small crowd, including journalists, that: “The enemy has infiltrated the African National Congress. At the right time, we will talk about some of these things.”

This wasn’t meant to convince the residents to vote ANC. They told News24 journalist Lizeka Tandwa that they are struggling because they have been without power for seven months, or that their R350 Covid-19 grants have been paused. Rather, it was meant as a warning shot to Magashule’s comrades, in particular President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has been accused by Magashule’s lobby in the party – most recently and indirectly by a document compiled by an ANC cadres group led by retired defence intelligence head Maomela “Mojo” Motau – of lacking proper Struggle credentials.

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Ramaphosa has been leading the fight against corruption in the ANC. He personally addressed a press conference at the end of August to communicate a National Executive Committee resolution which stated that “cadres of the ANC who are formally charged for corruption or other serious crimes must immediately step aside from all leadership positions in the ANC, legislatures or other government structures pending the finalisation of their cases”. Ramaphosa mentioned there was a “choreographed campaign” against him for his anti-corruption crusade.

Magashule on Tuesday said: “I have done nothing wrong, I am a law-abiding citizen.” ANC spokesperson and NEC member Dakota Legoete, who took Magashule aside to brief him shortly after the news broke, was defensive of Magashule: 

“We saw on social media that there is a warrant. This is not how we run our systems.”

Speaking to fellow ANC comrades, Legoete said, “All our structures, all our branches, all our leaders must remain calm.” He said Magashule “is a citizen who is protected by all laws, who is protected by the Constitution of the country, and he reserves the right to remain silent. He will answer the courts and the judiciary at the relevant time once charges are preferred against him. 

“For now we are going to request that our secretary-general must keep quiet and serve together with his legal team. They know what to do under the circumstances.”

He urged fellow ANC leaders to focus on the upcoming by-elections. “None of us must panic or lose focus. We must remain calm and allow the ANC to emerge from the by-elections.” 

It is high time that corrupt ANC cadres face the full might of the law and are jailed for their treasonous corruption which continues to steal from the poor and re-enrich the party’s elite.

The ANC’s statement, issued by spokesperson Pule Mabe, indicated that the party would take a wait-and-see approach and that Magashule would ask his legal team how best to respond to the latest developments before he would “guide any response on the matter”. 

Magashule “previously spoke about his imminent arrest and had requested his legal team to establish the validity of such an arrest with the relevant authorities”, the statement said, possibly referring to a false report by IOL last month, which was denied by the Hawks.

“The ANC will be monitoring these developments closely and will accordingly communicate on any update should the need arise,” the statement said. It didn’t mention anything about the resolution that those charged with corruption should step aside, or the possible intervention of the party’s Integrity Commission, which could make recommendations to that effect. 

Carl Niehaus from the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA) said the organisation was “angered and dismayed” by the warrant of arrest. 

“This is an extremely serious development for both the ANC, and our whole South African community. MKMVA will in due course respond with a comprehensive statement,” Niehaus’s statement read.

“As MKMVA we warned many times against the selective use of corruption charges and the law enforcement agencies as tools for factional targeting and political infighting causes disunity in the African National Congress (ANC) and overall in our country [sic]. It is also fundamentally disrespectful of our Constitution and the rule of law in general.”

Reflecting the insinuation by Magashule about an enemy infiltration, Niehaus added the hashtags #StopTheWedgeDriversInOurANC and #HandsOffAceMagashule! to his statement. 

The DA in the Free State tried to claim the victory as its own, saying it was “delighted” because it was DA MPL Leona Kleynhans “who has pursued this case relentlessly since 2015, eventually culminating in the laying of charges against Magashule in May this year, which has ensured that Magashule finally be brought to book [sic]”.

The DA statement was referring to the civil suit the party launched against the asbestos contract, although that suit did not touch on Magashule’s role in it. 

“It is high time that corrupt ANC cadres face the full might of the law and are jailed for their treasonous corruption which continues to steal from the poor and re-enrich the party’s elite.”

The statement questioned why the ANC had, in the two years since the publication of Daily Maverick journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s book Gangster State detailing Magashule’s dealings in the Free State, “done absolutely nothing to act on one of its own in the face of damning corruption allegations”.

The Freedom Front Plus hailed Magashule’s arrest warrant as “good news for South Africa”, saying it showed that the wheels of justice were turning, albeit slowly. 

“Experience has taught that once the first domino in a row falls, the rest will soon follow,” it said. DM