ANC brass deny Zuma Malema meeting

Disgrunteled members of the EFF held a press conference at the Capital Hotel - Moloto in Sandton. (L-R) Mpho Ramakatsa, Andile Mngxitama and Khanysilile Litchfield-Tshabalala. Picture: Antoine de Ras, 17/05/2015

Disgrunteled members of the EFF held a press conference at the Capital Hotel - Moloto in Sandton. (L-R) Mpho Ramakatsa, Andile Mngxitama and Khanysilile Litchfield-Tshabalala. Picture: Antoine de Ras, 17/05/2015

Published Feb 18, 2015

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Johannesburg - Former ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga and Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi have denied facilitating a meeting between President Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema in Maputo for the latter’s return to the governing party.

This is after a group of disgruntled EFF members, led by MPs Andile Mngxitama and Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala, cited Motshekga and Lesufi as the people behind the alleged meeting in Mozambique’s capital. The group, which included former EFF national co-ordinator Mpho Ramakatsa and Lucky Twala, made this claim at a media briefing in Sandton on Tuesday.

“Mathole Motshekga and Panyaza Lesufi organised a meeting for President Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema in Maputo, but Zuma snubbed them,” said Ramakatsa when pressed for answers by the media on who from the ANC had facilitated the meeting.

Contacted for comment late on Tuesday, Motshekga said: “I have never been to Mozambique in the past 15 years. The claim is malicious and smacks of the dirty tricks of an apartheid assassin.”

Earlier, Lesufi had posted a tweet expressing his shock at the claim. Contacted for comment, he said he was considering legal action.

“I have never been to Maputo in my life. I have never spoken to anyone from the EFF. I have contacted my lawyers to say they must retract (the statement) or else I’m going ahead with legal action,” Lesufi said.

The allegation that Malema was conniving with ANC leaders to destroy the EFF and “incorporate it into the ANC” was among the startling allegations made by the group opposed to Malema and his deputy Floyd Shivambu’s leadership style.

The group calls itself “the crusaders of anti-corruption inside the EFF”. It claims Malema wanted to return to the ANC because he wanted to evade the possibility of more charges against him for his tax evasion case with the SA Revenue Service.

“The criminal case of Limpopo will be heard (later) this year and can go either way. To pre-empt possible jail term, our leaders are offering the EFF to the ANC for protection against prosecution,” Litchfield-Tshabalala said.

The EFF on Monday suspended Mngxitama and Litchfield-Tshabalala as MPs for bringing the party into disrepute after they called a media briefing in Cape Town last Thursday. On Tuesday, the pair sought to expose the alleged corruption and abuse of power by Malema and Shivambu.

They alleged that Malema was abusing an EFF credit card, among others, but did not provide evidence.

“We have seen lots of information that points to wrongdoing in the EFF. We have been given this information by many sources and we have sought to verify it as far as possible,” said Litchfield-Tshabalala, without elaborating further.

Asked to provide evidence, they said it was part of the court case application for an external audit into the EFF’s finances. The case was due to be opened in the Western Cape High Court today.

“We believe Julius Malema has changed. He is a brilliant leader, in terms of uniting people, but he is compromised,” Mngxitama said.

Litchfield-Tshabalala said that on Friday they would file court papers in Bloemfontein to nullify the EFF’s inaugural national people’s assembly.

A campaign called “Save the soul of the EFF” would be launched in Mangaung on Saturday.

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The Star

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