Political analyst, Levy Ndou, says the continuous protection of former President, Jacob Zuma, is now haunting the ANC.
He describes Zuma’s behaviour as an indication of his accustomed expectation that he will always be shielded by the governing party.
Addressing ANC members in Mbombela ahead of the party’s January 8 celebration this weekend, Mbalula conceded that the ANC defended Zuma in his multi-million rand Nkandla upgrade.
At the time, the former president was under fire for the R247 million upgrade, which included the controversial swimming pool, which was described as a firefighting facility; a chicken run, a visitor’s centre and an amphitheater.
In 2014, the Office of the Public Protector found that the former statesman benefitted unduly from the so-called security upgrades to his KwaZulu-Natal home.
The office, which was led by Adv Thuli Madonsela, ordered that Zuma pay back the money.
The finding was upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2016 after the former president ignored the findings.
To the nation’s fury, Mbalula yesterday told ANC members that the ANC lied to Parliament to protect Zuma.
“In defence of our President, we went to Parliament and opened an Ad Hoc Committee and said a swimming pool is a fire pool. People have lost their careers because of that thing.”
Mbalula put the former president on blast after his unexpected announcement that he will be ditching the ANC vote at the polls this year and pledged his support for the newly formed, Umkhonto WeSizwe political party.
Ndou says during the Nkandla scandal – it was obvious that the ANC was put in a corner to defend the indefensible.
“Everybody who is aware that whatever that happened surrounding Nkandla compromised the ANC because they had to protect their leader.”
Civil Rights group, NotInMyName, has also come out guns blazing, expressing concern over Mbalula’s utterances.
The organisation says the ANC Secretary General’s admission to defending corruption in Parliament is an insult to the Constitution.
The organisation’s president, Siyabulela Jentile, says this begs the question that how many other times has the governing party lied to defend its President, most notably, the Phala Phala farm gate scandal.
“Mbalula’s admission to defending corruption in Parliament – lying under oath by extension, is an insult to the Constitution, Parliament and to ordinary South Africans who put their faith, fears and aspirations in the hands of scheming and lying politicians.”
“NotInMyName wishes to call upon ordinary South Africans to register to vote better in the upcoming 2024 National and Provincial Government Elections.”
Jentile says it’s time people vote with their lived experiences and not their conscience.
