Johannesburg – New MK Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) national executive committee member Carl Niehaus, labelled a liar and a fraudster, should not be judged by his past, the association said on Monday.
"No one is perfect in the ranks of the ANC and MK. In fact, at MK, when you did something wrong, we would give you a corrective measure, not punishment. We are not going to allow our enemies to destroy our own comrades...should someone commit a mistake, that person is corrected by the ANC," said MKMVA President Kebby Maphatsoe.
He said Niehaus was a "trained commissar" who was good at communication.
"So you're here raising comrade Carl's credibility? Do not take lightly that he is just a fraudster, no. We are very proud of his struggle credentials, that is why we elected him to the MKMVA NEC and hope he will do good work for the association...he is a communication commissar."
His new position in the MKMVA seems to signal the return of Niehaus to active politics. He sat quietly with the MKMVA top leaders and listened to Maphatsoe as he responded to questions at the media briefing at Luthuli House.
Niehaus is widely remembered for admitting to lying several times, including lying about his father's death several years ago. He reportedly asked the then deputy justice minister Andries Nel for a loan to transport his father's body from the Western Cape to Zeerust, North West.
Nel drove to Zeerust to support his grieving old friend Niehaus on the day of the supposed funeral, but found no such a death or funeral.
Allegations of fraud, mounting debt, falsifying ministers' signatures piled up several years ago against the former ANC national spokesperson.
He resigned as spokesperson in 2009 in the wake of the damning allegations against him, which he reportedly admitted to.