Johannesburg - Embattled ANC MP Dr Makhosi Khoza on Monday confirmed she voted for President Jacob Zuma’s removal in Parliament, as the party looks set to go into a tailspin over the no-confidence motion voting.
Khoza’s comments 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.
On Monday, even some of Zuma’s supporters did not know how the punishment would be meted 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 the divisions in the party.
Khoza returned to her Facebook page to condemn the ANC MPs who voted to keep Zuma in power, 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, Khoza, a vehement critic of Zuma, 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 in KwaZulu-Natal has already charged Khoza with ill-discipline for publicly defying the party by saying she would vote with her conscience. Her disciplinary hearing is set to take place next month.
It was unclear how provinces would deal with other MPs who defied the party.
ANC North West secretary Dakota Legoete said it would require “special expertise” to find out how the MPs voted.
“The voting was done via a secret ballot, so we won’t be competent to discover how the MPs voted.”
The ANC’s Gauteng secretary, Hope Papo, said the responsibility of dealing with the MPs lay with the party’s national executive committee.
“All matters relating to the ANC caucus in Parliament is the political responsibility of the NEC (national executive committee). As a province, we have a responsibility to work with our regions, for the Gauteng Legislature and municipalities,” he said.
ANC national communications manager Khusela Sangoni referred questions to the party’s spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa, who couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Political analysts warned on Monday that Zuma’s bid to purge ANC MPs who voted for his removal is a witch-hunt that won’t succeed.
They cautioned that the move, if implemented, could further divide the party.
On Sunday, Zuma 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’s constitution, were taking the party for granted and he would be “happy if the party took a tough decision”.
Zuma said he was shocked that even the ANC disciplinary committee chairperson (Derek Hanekom) had been implicated. The axed tourism minister chairs the committee and has been vocal in calling for Zuma to step down.
Political analyst Dumisani Hlophe said the witch-hunt was unfortunate. “This is why the secret vote was applied, so that people can 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 which is unfortunate.”
Hlophe said the development was a symptom of challenges that had been going on for a long time, without being addressed.
“When you have 25 MPs voting in favour of the removal of a president from their own party, it tells you the ANC has not moved any closer to managing its own internal risks,” said Hlophe.
Another analyst, Ongama Mtimka, said it was “scandalous” for Zuma to be calling for action against MPs.
“The process to determine who voted for the motion can only follow a witch-hunt. I don’t think he’s going to succeed because the ANC is split down the middle.”
Another political analyst, Ralph Mathekga, said it would be impossible for Zuma to know how the MPs voted. “They are going to persecute people based on suspicion of how they voted, but the secret ballot is protected by the constitution.
“You will actually be going against their constitutional right if you go after them, and the Constitutional Court is the one that provided guidance on that matter as it gave grounds for the Speaker to consider the secret ballot.
“Now it’s like they are appealing that judgment, without going to court,” said Mathekga, adding that Zuma was no longer in charge.
“He is in trouble and that’s why he is looking for victims. He knows their conduct might gain traction within the party and that might end with Zuma losing the ANC elective conference in December,” he said.
The planned purge was about Zuma wanting to consolidate his power and make sure his preferred candidate to succeed him when he steps down as ANC leader, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, emerges victorious, he added.