Durban - Former Fees Must Fall activist, Bonginkosi Khanyile, was a short while ago unveiled as a new member of Gayton McKenzie's Patriotic Alliance (PA)
This was during a press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday afternoon.
Khanyile, who hails from Nkandla and is out on bail for allegedly inciting violence in July last year after the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma, is a former member of the EFF.
His relationship with the EFF appeared to have soured as he recently and publicly exchanged heated words with the party’s Marshall Dlamini and Mandla Shikwambana. Their differences were over how operation Dudula was treating foreigners in the country.
JUST IN: Former Fees Must Fall activist, Bonginkosi Khanyile, has just been unveiled as a new member of Gayton Mackenzie's Patriotic Alliance (PA) in Joburg. Khanyile who is out on bail for allegedly inciting violence in July last year is a former member of the EFF. @DailyNewsSA
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) May 5, 2022
To underline the extent of the fallout between Khanyile and the EFF, when the leader of operation Dudula, Nhlanhla Lux was granted bail, Khanyile said he was told some EFF supporters wanted to come and beat him (Khanyile) up.
Khanyile said they did the right thing by not showing up as previously threatened, because he would have taught them a lesson.
Unveiling Khanyile, PA’s deputy president Kenny Kunene who presided over the press conference which was called to deal with issues of coalitions across the country, said Khanyile is an activist of note.
PA DP, Kenny Kunene says their coalition with the ANC in Gauteng & North West is fragile. He says there is a lack of communication, their MMCs are made spectators where they are serving. He also blamed ABC factions for the challenges. Joburg and Ekurhuleni are safe. @DailyNewsSA
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) May 5, 2022
“A man that put his life for Fees Must Fall, for the students of this country to get what they are supposed to get, which is free education, a young man that continues to inspire the youth, a young man that has been treated like a terrorist in this country when he highlights the plight of young people,” Kunene said in his introduction of Khanyile.
On coalitions, Kunene was frank and said they are in a fragile one with the ANC in the North West and Gauteng. As a result, they wanted to pull out, but an intervention by Gauteng ANC deputy chairperson, Panyaza Lesufi and the governing party in the province, decided to give the coalition another chance, pending talks to remedy the fallout.
“There are challenges in North West and here in Gauteng, especially in J B Marks (Potchefstroom), we are in a fragile, very fragile coalition partnership with the ANC at J B Marks Municipality. And here at West Rand Municipality, we are very fragile, this comes because of lack of consultation, lack of communication, our MMCs (Members of Mayoral Committees) there are made spectators, when they are there to serve our people,” he claimed.
Despite pulling out of coalitions with the DA in the Western Cape, Kunene said they would not do so in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni. He insisted the coalitions there are safe and that is dependent on how the DA behaves.
“One must make it categorically clear that the coalition in Johannesburg and the coalition in Ekurhuleni are very much safe. Our MMCs have given us positive reports on how they are working with the mayor of Johannesburg and the mayor of Ekurhuleni. So where we are standing now, as of today, we intend to keep the coalition for five years, but that will also depend on the behaviour of the DA,” he said.
Kunene also clarified that the PA is not xenophobic, instead, it was more concerned with putting South Africans first. He also dismissed allegations that they are only targeting illegal immigrants from the African continent.
He said they are also targeting illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and China who he said were crowded around the Crown Mine area in Gauteng.
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