Lekota faces 'radical action'

2008-10-14 14:04

Johannesburg - The ANC intends taking "radical action" against suspended long-time comrade Mosiuoa Lekota, ruling party president Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.

On Monday night the ANC announced that Lekota, a central figure in the struggle against apartheid and a former defence minister, as well as his former deputy Mluleki George, had been suspended from the party.

Last week Lekota went on Talk Radio 702 and, in what Zuma described as a "media show", accused the ANC of deviating from past policy and said he was "serving divorce papers" on the ANC.

Lekota did not arrive for a meeting with the ANC last week to discuss his comments and after a meeting with officials on Monday he was suspended.

"Unfortunately comrades, as we prepare for elections we have to deal with the shenanigans of some elements within the ANC who (want) to break away and form a splinter party," said Zuma.

Freedom Charter belongs to the ANC

These people could not accept the democratic process which led to the appointment of Zuma over Mbeki as party president, and the subsequent recall of Mbeki by the ANC as the country's president.

"Today we are seeing patterns of behaviour which can best be described as charlatan," Zuma said. "They go around the country attempting to cajole the membership of our movement into a rebellion against our organisation. We are not going to tolerate that.

"While recent events have been painful, they should not be used to undermine the ANC and its leadership."

Zuma accused the splinter group of trying to "steal the Freedom Charter", the document that outlays the ANC priorities and goals.

"In fact they want to steal the Freedom Charter which is unlawful. It belongs to the ANC."

He said serving divorce papers meant the party did not mean much to Lekota.

"What does that mean? You are defeated in a democratic process and you take such action?"

He said a special national executive committee meeting would meet on Wednesday to discuss it "and take very radical decisions".

No policy on singing

"Our view is that we can't allow people who are bitter about democratic processes to sow disunity and confusion within our structure," he said.

Members were supposed to rally behind their leaders and "loyal members know how to raise issues in the party. The ANC is not a liberal organisation where people can do as they please and nothing happens."

The party would act "very decisively" to rid itself of factionalism.

Zuma said history had been "very unkind" to breakaways from the ANC who realised they were on their own.

"It's cold out there if you are out of the ANC, very cold," he said, urging unionists not to take the disenchanted group seriously.

Zuma went through individual points raised by Lekota, saying he did not understand why Lekota said the party was deviating from the Freedom Charter.

There was no clause in the Freedom Charter which banned T-shirts saying "100% Zulu boy", which were worn by Zuma supporters outside his various court appearances for rape, for which he was acquitted, and corruption, which was set aside.

Lekota had also complained that this was against ANC tradition, as was the singing of awuleth umshini wam ( where is my machine gun - a liberation song repopularised by Zuma and his supporters).

"I don't know where is the deviation in the Freedom Charter about songs? There is no policy in the Freedom Charter on singing."

Concrete evidence of political conspiracy

Suggesting that he was being treated differently and not in line with the charter's principle of "all must be equal before the law", Lekota was wrong, said Zuma.

"Definitely wrong because the ANC adheres to the rule of law. What Terror (Lekota's nickname) is failing to appreciate is that in the particular case that he is referring to there is concrete evidence that there had been a political conspiracy and it was politically engineered."

Zuma ended his speech by singing awuleth umshini wam and this was followed by delegates singing "Lekota is a hypocrite".

He was followed by Congress of SA Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi who called Lekota's statements a "publicity stunt" to drum up support for a new party.

- SAPA