DURBAN - Embattled ANC MP Makhosi Khoza confirmed that she voted for President Jacob Zuma’s removal in Parliament, as the party looks set to go into a tailspin over the motion of no-confidence.
Khoza’s comments on Monday came hours after Zuma and his allies intensified calls for action to be taken against the 26 or so ANC MPs who defied the party line last week.
But even some of Zuma’s supporters did not know how the punishment would be carried out, as the vote was done in secret.
This was as political analysts warned that a witch-hunt against the MPs would be illegal and deepen divisions in the party.
Khoza returned to Facebook to condemn the ANC MPs who voted to keep Zuma, saying they chose kleptocracy.
“In those voting booths, we were all confronted with the same choice - to choose between right and wrong, to choose between self-enrichment and the service of our people. Unfortunately, the majority chose to endorse the steady and relentless destruction of the ANC and the country. Once again, our party chose to side with a president who has consistently failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution,” she said.
In a statement she released on social media yesterday, Khoza commended her colleagues who supported the motion.
“They stood true to their oaths as MPs, choosing to defend the rights of those who elected them to public office, instead of defending the immoral and indefensible.”
The ANC KwaZulu-Natal branch has already charged Khoza with ill-discipline for publicly defying the organisation by saying she would vote with her conscience. Her disciplinary hearing is expected to get under way next month.
Political analysts warned yesterday that Zuma’s audacious bid to purge ANC MPs who voted for his removal is a witch-hunt which won’t succeed. They cautioned that Zuma’s move, if implemented, could further divisions in the party.
Zuma has charged that those who had two consciences needed to “make space in the National Assembly for those who have an ANC conscience”.
He said the MPs had contravened the ANC constitution, were taking the party for granted and he would be “happy if the party took a tough decision”.
Political analyst Dumisani Hlophe said the witch-hunt was unfortunate. “This is why the secret vote was applied, so people could vote according to their own volition. If it’s a secret vote and people look out to see who voted which way, that’s a witch-hunt.
“I don’t think he (Zuma) is going to succeed in this because the ANC is so split.”