South African Communist Party (SACP) second deputy general-secretary Solly Mapaila has warned the African National Congress (ANC) that it risks losing more votes next year if it includes former president Jacob Zuma in its election campaign team.
This comes after the Hawks said they were studying an affidavit into bribery allegations against Zuma.
According to reports, Zuma allegedly accepted a R1 million bribe from a Western Cape abalone dealer, Deon Larry, in exchange for keeping Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana in his Cabinet.
In the affidavit deposed at the Lyttelton Police Station in Centurion in December, businessman Chaile Seretse further alleges that Zokwana, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Sdumo Dlamini and Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Deputy Director-General, Siphokazi Ndudane, each received a R300 000 bribe from Larry.
Mapaila says the inclusion of Zuma would be costly for the ANC.
“We think that for the ANC, it would be in its favour as well as in our favour to make sure that he’s not taking part in electoral platforms. It’s not good enough, because as revolutionaries, our moral and ethical conduct should be much higher than what is generally applicable.”
“We need incorruptible leaders and we can’t have that kind of a face representing our value system that is completely against what we stand for,” adds Mapaila.
On the allegations against Dlamini and Zokwana, Mapaila says, “I spoke to Dlamini who is also our member and he actually denied all of this to the extent that he has not even spoken to anyone including the police. So, it was just a shock for him that he hears this in this case but we’ll apply the same measure about comrade Zokwana.”
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