ANC in Mpumalanga not happy with Ace Magashule’s stepping aside

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ANC in Mpumalanga not happy with Ace Magashule's stepping aside
NOBHALA: African National Congress secretary general Ace Magashule. PICTURE BY News24

The party believes in the use of “proper processes” that do not violate the rights of comrades.


The ANC in Mpumalanga has voiced out a concern on the NEC’s step aside rule, saying the decision tends to violate the rights of secretary-general Ace Magashule and the other comrades who are expected to step aside.

Acting provincial secretary Lindiwe Ntshalintshali said the NEC decision “is stepping on the toes” of both the ANC and the country’s Constitutions.

“I think it will be proper that the matter is handled in a manner that is correct,” Ntshalintshali said when she spoke to Newzroom Afrika’s Stephen Grootes Wednesday afternoon 14 April 2021.

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Ntshalintshali said the law was clear that people were innocent until proven guilty by “the court of law and not by our own comrades in the NEC meeting or PEC”.

“How many more people are they going to level allegations against and at the end they are acquitted, hence we are saying that the decision should be implemented in a manner that doesn’t step on the toes of our Constitution,” she said.

ANC in Mpumalanga not happy with Ace Magashule's stepping aside
ANC acting provincial secretary in Mpumalanga, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali

Mpumalanga is one of the provinces rallying behind Magashule, and has come out to voice concerns about the NEC’s decision forcing him out of office.

Ntshalintshali said just recently NEC member Bongani Bongo was found not guilty by the Western Cape High Court and what would have happened to him if he stepped aside.

“We don’t want to say people must step aside only to find that it was a witch hunt and then the ANC takes a blame, hence we want to be thorough when we implement”.

She added that she didn’t mean Magashule “should stay on or move out” but that should happened once a court of law has ruled on him.

“The problem that we are doing we are interpreting the step-aside only. Go and read our own constitution, it says ‘until you have gone [through] the process fully’.

“Some of these matter are politically motivated, hence we are saying let’s follow the processes properly and not use courts to fight the processes of the ANC,” she said.

(edited by MLM)

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