ROAD TO ELECTIVE CONFERENCE
Zweli Mkhize accuses ANC leaders of using the criminal justice system to eliminate political opponents
ANC presidential hopeful Zweli Mkhize, who is at the centre of the Digital Vibes corruption scandal, has accused leaders within the party of using their power to intimidate others. The former health minister said this was sowing fear among members and making them reluctant to openly reveal who they will be endorsing for leadership positions.
In what looked like a swipe at ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa, National Executive Committee (NEC) member Zweli Mkhize has condemned those who he said are using their power to eliminate their political opponents in the run-up to the ANCs’ national conference in December.
He suggested that the anti-corruption stance taken by some ANC leaders has become a means to get rid of political opponents. He avoided specifically naming Ramaphosa in his speech.
Delivering the Victoria Mxenge Memorial Lecture on Wednesday evening, 14 September 2022, at the Wiggins Hall in Durban, he said members should be working on unifying the party instead of creating “cabals”.
Mkhize says now he hears of people that are afraid of nominating certain individuals because they will be ill-treated pic.twitter.com/cnCuRJWlX0
— Zimasa Matiwane (@ZimasaMatiwane) September 14, 2022
“We do see tendencies of those who want to use their powers to put pressure on others and then sometimes unashamedly start using powers to eliminate political opponents using the criminal justice system. We would like to condemn that. That cannot be how we run the state and the party,” he said.
“Do not allow anyone to intimidate you. People are saying they will not nominate because they are afraid. I have spoken to a number of people; some of them in some provinces feel intimidated, they are worried that they will be followed and intimidated. You cannot have two types of justice. The ANC is an institution for exercising democracy in this country. Therefore a party must allow freedom of expression and differences of opinion.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Zweli Mkhize’s road to ANC top job is littered with potholes”
The former health minister went on to say the rules that have been implemented by the party should apply to all its members. This comes amid internal criticism that the party’s step-aside guidelines have not been fairly executed, as well as calls by a number of provinces to have them scrapped.
The resolution has caused much controversy within the party since it was formally introduced in 2021, with one of its first casualties being secretary-general Ace Magashule. He refused to step aside and had to be suspended from his position.
ANC NEC member Zweli Mkhize delivering the Victoria Mxenge Memorial Lecture at Wiggins Hall in Durban. (Photo: Supplied)
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Others who have been affected by the step-aside rule include former ANC Limpopo treasurer Danny Msiza, former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, the former mayor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Olly Mlamleli, and former parliamentary portfolio committee chairs Bongani Bongo and Zukiswa Ncitha.
“Corruption is an important issue to fight, but when that issue is arising there must be one law. If we say for the purpose of ensuring that things are properly investigated [that] this is how we should do things, then it should all be standardised. Everyone must do exactly the same. I think it is important to say that when we are sitting here there is no one who will say corruption is good and therefore also to say that the ANC is corrupt is a challenge because you are members of the ANC, that is who the ANC is. Not because of leaders should the ANC be condemned. Leaders should be condemned specifically and individually for whatever they have done,” he said.
Mkhize has been at the centre of the Digital Vibes scandal linked to his department’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to him being placed on special leave and eventually resigning as minister on the eve of a Cabinet reshuffle. He did, however, continue in his role as an ANC NEC member.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Digital Vibes scandal: The story behind the story”
Daily Maverick’s investigative journalism unit, Scorpio revealed that Mkhize’s close associates, long-time spokesperson Tahera Mather and his former personal assistant, Naadhira Mitha, who were enlisted as directors of Digital Vibes, benefited to the tune of R150-million from a contract with the department. In addition it revealed hat Mkhize and his family had also benefited from the deal. A Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation confirmed this.
In his resignation letter, he claimed the SIU worked with a “predetermined outcome and a closed mind in the investigation”.
Despite all the controversy surrounding him, Mkhize is one of the candidates vying to stand against Ramaphosa at the party’s national elective conference in three months. Earlier in 2022, Ward 1 in KwaXimba, KwaZulu-Natal, which boasts about 4,000 members, informally threw its weight behind Mkhize.
He was also endorsed by various regions, leagues and alliance structures attending the memorial lecture. DM
If you’ve done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to worry about.
I just don’t get how thisman is even in the running for anything??!! He stole from us when we were all down and people were dying from covid.
Unbelievable!
Time the crooks faced trial and went to prison instead of standing as presidential hopefuls and spreading more lies to undermine democracy and the courts
Is this guy for real? Freedom of expression and differences of opinion are legal , what most of the people mentioned here practice is not legal. McSleasy is basically saying if you are a member of the ANC you must turn a blind eye to the thieves and let the dysfunctional cops do their best (because clearly it’s party before country). All allegedly of course.
Frightening that this individual is brazen enough to address the public and show his face – he is clearly a corrupt individual.
What a twister. Typical ANC political logic chopping. Goes like this – ‘I am not a criminal, but I have been targeted unfairly by Cyril. Therefore all ANC politicians who have been targeted can’t be criminals either – ergo, it must be Cyril coming after them because he has an axe to grind!’ Maybe he should do some sober reflection and realise that he is being targeted BECAUSE he is a corrupt crook. And to think I had a measure of respect for this guy for the way he behaved during the early days of the Covid-19 lockdown. Scratch any ANC bigwig and there might be a layer of respectability on the surface, but underneath, pure Mafioso. Cry the beloved country.
This is rich coming from a person like him.
Go to jail Zweli. You can be president of cell block A and C.
Copy and paste from Zuma, ne Zweli. C’mon surely you can do better than that with your Digital experience ?
From this article it rather looks to me as if Mkhize is finding it difficult to get branches to nominate him to a position in the ANC. That is what is referred to when he speaks of members fearing and that they are reluctant to reveal who they will endorse. I don’t see much in terms of double standards on the side of the ANC in their decisionmaking about the step-aside rule, other than that when they did make those decisions, certain loopholes were not closed and then some members slipped through those cracks.
A typical ANC moron/cadre who can’t tell the wood for the trees and oh so conveniently forgets his role in the Digital Vibes scandal. Like Zuma, he bleats that “I have done nothing wrong and it is all a political conspiracy”. He mentions that the ANC is an institution for exercising democracy – NO, it is an institution for gross corruption, incompetence and thevwholesale rape of a country. Go to and rot in jail Mhkize where you belong along with all your hideous RET mates and state capturers!! This country has had more than enough of all you scumbags.
KZN seems to have become a cesspool for bad sorts. How did the likes of Zweli get to be invited to speak at such an event. Victoria Mxenge must be turning in her grave.
As soon as involvement in anything that even hints at corrupt behaviour emerges, the response is it’s a political conspiracy.
The sooner one of these top of the tree ANC corrupt individuals is found guilty the sooner things have a chance of changing. As for incompetence, well, to remove that the cadre deployment vehicle needs to crash and burn.
If you and your chums hadn’t tried to loot your ministry of R140M through Digital Vibes you wouldn’t be in this predicament and would be in the other “good guy” faction. But your only home now is with the other RET thieves.
The best thing for those with political ambitions is to keep their fingers away from the public, abuse of power, general criminality and being a criminal nuisance then people will have no finger to point at you. This includes your wife, husband or children because of consanguinity if the ANC cheque collectors are not aware of the concept. People will have no basis to get the NPA behind you. This includes the abuse of power through use of state resources like the police and other agencies for personal ends. The era of political boxing fans has gone for ever as well as impunity if you are an ANC big wig. Those who are currently shielded when Jesus enters the Union Buildings will have nowhere to run. This is irrespective of the time lapse. People have to understand that Zuma’s Jesus is very close to coming!