Durban - The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has acted against rebel member of Parliament Makhosi Khoza by charging her with bringing the party into disrepute.
Khoza will have to defend her anti-Zuma comments and breaking ranks with the party line at a disciplinary hearing this week.
Khoza, who was deployed by the ANC in KZN to Parliament, has been calling on President Jacob Zuma to step down.
The party says it has “water-tight” evidence against Khoza and believes she is guilty and must face the consequences.
It was not known at the time of going to print whether Simelane-Zulu, who was meant to notify Khoza of the disciplinary charges, had done so.
Super Zuma, the party’s provincial secretary, said Khoza’s comments about the president had not only angered the party in KwaZulu-Natal, but nationally.
“All the things she has been saying in public and in the media, attacking the president and the ANC, will form part of our evidence against her, and she can’t escape,” said Zuma.
“The ANC in KZN is against party members who attack the president in public when there are internal structures to adhere to.
“It really defies logic that you are deployed by the ANC to Parliament and you turn against its president and attack him.
“It’s unheard of anywhere in the world,” he said.
Zuma would not give a time frame on how long the disciplinary hearing would last, saying it would depend on Khoza’s defence.
“But I’m sure she will be given a fair hearing and the chairperson will ultimately decide the sanctions to be meted out against her,” he said.
With die-hard Zuma supporters in KZN wanting Khoza sanctioned, it remains to be seen whether she will be part of the vote of no-confidence against Zuma set for August 8 in Parliament.
Khoza previously proposed that the vote be by secret ballot, a move that also raised the ire of Zuma allies.
Her proposal was shot down by some and welcomed by others in the party.
If she is recalled as MP, the ANC in KZN would have to deploy another person to fill the position.
Despite the party moving swiftly against her, Khoza said on Facebook she was unperturbed by the disciplinary hearing because it was being handled by an “illegitimate structure”.
Khoza could not be reached for further comment, but she did post on Facebook late on Saturday night.
Questions are being asked on social media whether this is the end of her political journey in the ANC, a party she joined when she was 12.