Johannesburg - Outspoken ANC MP Makhosi Khoza on Tuesday stunned civil society organisations at the Rhema Bible Church in Randburg when she declared that she might be dead in a month.
Khoza, who has recently received a series of death threats after she publicly pushed for Parliament to hold the no-confidence vote against President Jacob Zuma on August 8 by secret ballot, believes that those opposed to her would kill her in less than a month.
“In case I do not make it (alive) to August 8, 2017, Mr President, you must know that you are haunting the South African nation,” Khoza said.
Parliament on Tuesday took
seriously when it said extra security would be provided for the KZN MP. This followed a police assessment which determined that a security threat exists against her.
Spokesperson for Parliament Moloto Mothapo said the Speaker had referred Khoza’s matter to the police for further handling after she submitted a report pertaining to the threats she has been receiving.
“The SAPS conducted a security assessment and submitted its report, with recommendations, on July 13 for consideration by Parliament’s Executive Authority - the Speaker of the National Assembly and the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces. The security assessment confirmed that a security threat existed and that appropriate support must be provided to Dr Khoza,” Mothapo said.
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said law enforcement agents were not taking the threats lightly and had ordered a team to track down those behind the series of threatening text messages sent to Khoza last week.
Khoza recently posted screengrabs on her Facebook account containing threatening messages she had received, warning her against pushing for a secret ballot for the motion of no-confidence.
One of the text messages she received reads: “This time around, you should do what is best for yourself,” which was followed up with: “I will find you and I will kill you. You have 21 days before you die.”
Political killings and threats have risen as the ANC elective conference in December draws nearer.
On Monday night, the Speaker of the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape, was gunned down a few weeks after receiving a death threat. According to media reports, Thozama Njobe was shot in the upper body while driving with a colleague.
On Tuesday, the Hawks released identikits of two suspects believed to be linked to the shooting of Sindiso Magaqa, former ANC Youth League secretary-general, and two other ANC councillors in KZN last week.
Unfazed by the threats to her life and these latest killings, Khoza on Tuesday fired more bitter salvoes against corruption in the ANC while pleading with Zuma to step down.
“I am here because South Africans, the people, are speaking and I have to listen attentively so that my ANC can be an effective instrument of liberation. Can the ANC be an effective instrument of non-racialism when it is led by a president who has lost legitimacy, credibility and integrity?” Khoza asked.
She said the threats to her life would not silence her and pleaded for Zuma to step down.
The KZN MP was part of a panel speaking at the Conference for the Future of South Africa at Rhema Bible Church.