The 10 MK Party members who were fired as Members of Parliament (MP) have revealed that they received death threats amid their court battle with the mother body.
The demoted politicians approached the Western Cape High Court to prevent the swearing-in of their replacements.
The high court dismissed their urgent application, which they are now appealing.
The 10 party members were removed from the National Assembly to make way for former president Jacob Zuma’s loyalists.
These include former Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe, former Prasa CEO, Lucky Montana, and former Transnet CEO, Siyabonga Gama.
Thami Khuzwayo, who speaks for the fired 10 members, says they were duped into signing a settlement agreement a week before the hearing of their court application.
The proposed agreement allegedly included the reinstatement of the 10 members and the payment of their legal fees.
“We instructed our attorneys to prioritize this settlement, as we believed it was in the best interest of all parties to resolve the matter out of court.
“However, just hours before the court proceedings were set to begin, we were informed that the proposed deal was no longer available, and the case would proceed in court,” says Khuzwayo.
He says the abrupt changes derailed their legal representatives in preparing for the matter.
The 10, however, ended up signing the agreement after the MK Party’s legal representatives made the settlement offer for the second time.
“We signed the agreement, but the MK party’s representatives failed to sign it, leading to further delays and exacerbating the frustration of our counsel.”
“We later discovered that these delays resulted from conflicting instructions within the MK party.”
Khuzwayo has accused Duduzile Zuma and Advocate Dali Mpofu of being at the heart of their problems.
“While the party’s deputy president and the president supported an out-of-court settlement, other influential figures, including Dudu Zuma and Adv Dali Mpofu, opposed it, creating internal discord and impacting the legal process.”
Khuzwayo who earlier told YNews that they were merely exercising their rights and not acting out of defiance – has since pulled out of the case after allegedly thoroughly consulting with his elders.
The MK Party previously revealed that the fired members were informed that their presence in Parliament would be short-term.
The 2024 gsport Hall of Fame luncheon saw the induction of the 19th legend into the organisation's list of prestigious female athletes. The annual event honours extraordinary women who have left an in-erasable mark in South African sport. This year’s luncheon carried special significance as it corresponded with the […]
