Johannesburg - Defiant ANC MP Dr Makhosi Khoza has described the ANC as a dictatorship, accusing it of targeting her after slapping her with disciplinary charges for speaking out against President Jacob Zuma and calling for him to go.
Despite her protest on Monday, the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal said it will go ahead and charge her on Tuesday or later this week.
It denied it wanted to remove her as MP before the vote of no confidence debate in Zuma on August 8.
ANC KZN spokesperson Mdumiseni Ntuli said Khoza was not a “special” member of the ANC and will be charged.
In her Facebook post, Khoza said there was no part of the ANC that said people must support leaders who have lost credibility.
“We are officially in a dictatorship when ethical voices are suppressed. We are officially in a dictatorship when choosing the people over amoral leadership is treasonous. When the supreme law of the land is trampled (on),” Khoza wrote.
“We are officially in a dictatorship when the judiciary is under attack, when journalists are threatened. When political leaders are killed and intimidated to do wrong things,” she added.
Ntuli said: “Khoza will not be left off the hook. If she feels there are other people who need to be charged, that should be dealt with by the ANC national executive committee.”
Ntuli added that the ANC MP had admitted the wrongfulness of her actions and will face disciplinary action.
Ntuli denied claims by Khoza that they wanted to charge her before August 8.
“If that was the intention we could have summarily suspended her,” he said.
Ntuli said they believe the majority of ANC MPs will not back the opposition in the motion to remove Zuma.
“We believe the majority of the ANC MPs will not go with the opposition. In fact, it is not just the majority, but the overwhelming majority of ANC MPs who will not vote with the opposition,” he said.
Khoza has been embroiled in a fight with the ANC in KZN and nationally over her remarks that Zuma must go. She has publicly expressed her intention to vote against Zuma next month.
She also spoke out against the president at a civil society initiative in Joburg, calling for his removal from office.
Zuma has said he will serve his full-term until 2019, but will step down as ANC leader at the elective conference in December.
Khoza has been one of the staunchest critics of Zuma in the recent past.
She wrote a letter to Speaker Baleka Mbete urging her to allow a secret ballot.
Mbete has not yet decided on an open or secret ballot.
The Constitutional Court ruled that she has the powers to decide on either a secret ballot or open ballot.
Opposition parties are demanding a secret ballot to allow ANC MPs to vote with them.
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa could not be reached for comment last night.
The ANC in KZN and Mpumalanga on Monday expressed concern over what they called an onslaught and vicious attack on Zuma.
The provincial executive committees (PECs) met to reflect on issues facing the party.
“Both PECs depart on the premise that the unity of the party must take precedence over provincial parochial interests,” a joint statement read.