He also called on party members to rally behind Ace Magashule and Bongani Bongo as they face charges in court.
eHlanzeni ANC deputy convener Ngrai Ngwenya has called on party members to continue in their support of former President Jacob Zuma, saying Zuma dedicated his life to the work of the ANC.
Ngwenya said Mpumalanga will always rally behind Zuma, national secretary Ace Magashule and NEC member Bongani Bongo throughout their legal difficulties.
He speaks in a new video clip that surfaced online last week and is wearing a yellow t-shirt and a cap branded “Hands Off Comrade Jacob Zuma”.
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He said just like they will defend Nkomazi – the region from which he hails, they will support each and every member of the ANC accused of corruption in court.
He said as comrades in the sub-region they had planned to visit Zuma in KZN but because of the Covid-19 lockdown they were not able to do that.
“Comrades,” Ngwenya said to the small gathering in the clip.
“We bought these t-shirts because we were supposed to go to Durban to visit comrade Zuma. We were going to wear them on that day but because of the lockdown we were not able to. But we will finally visit him, so keep those t-shirts comrades because we will wear them once the pandemic is under control to demonstrate our support to him,” he said.
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Ngwenya said Magashule and Bongo too should be supported “so that those who are attacking them can see that they have the support”.
“We will wait for the court appearance of comrade Zuma and that of comrades Ace and Bongo and we will support them till the end,” Ngwenya said.
Zuma’s corruption and racketeering trial will sit on 23 February 2021 at the KZN High Court in uMgungundlovu.
Magashule’s case at the Mangaung Magistrates Court was postponed to 19 February 2021.
Bongo is charged by both the Mbombela Magistrates Court in Mpumalanga and the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town.
At the Western Cape High Court, Bongo is charged with the alleged attempt to bribe parliamentary enquiry evidence leader Ntuthuzelo Vanara in October 2017.
The trial is set to start from 15 February to 26 February 2021.
The Mbombela corruption case against Bongo will return in March 2021.
(edited by ZK)
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