Carl Niehaus has vowed to fight his expulsion by the National Disciplinary Committee of the African National Congress (ANC).
Last year, the former Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans’ spokesperson was suspended due to statements that he made in Nkandla when he went to support former President Jacob Zuma before his arrest.
Niehaus says he heard of his expulsion from what he calls a fellow comrade Supra Mahumapelo, who had also seen the news on social media.
Niehaus was expelled as a member of the ANC earlier on Monday. He was charged with six counts of misconduct for contravening Rule 25 of the ANC Constitution. He claims the process was nothing more than a kangaroo court.
“I’ve just received a phone call from one of my close comrades, comrade Supra Mahumapelo, informing me that on social media- there’s a letter from the national disciplinary committee of the African National Congress, making the rounds- saying that I’ve been expelled by the national disciplinary committee from the African National Congress. I have not received that letter personally, this letter was simply sent out into the public domain, by that kangaroo court.”
Carl Niehaus speaks about his expulsion from the ANC and vows to appeal:
Kgalema Disputed NEC List
Meanwhile, some ANC members under the banner of the Kgalema Disputed NEC List are taking the party to court to compel the ANC to provide them with raw data of all branch nominations for the NEC additionals. They want their matter to be heard on Wednesday. The ANC electoral committee has filed papers to oppose the court application.
ANC member Mogomotsi Mogodiri says, “We don’t have any interest in delaying the conference, for that matter we want that conference to be successful. What we are doing is to entrench a democratic culture in the ANC to say that the ANC can’t flout its rules ad expect that it will be credible for it to say; they are a democratic organisation and they can lead the party without any questions so what we are doing is to enhance the credibility and outcomes of c0nference, not to disrupt conference.”
Lawyers representing the ANC electoral committee say the unhappy ANC members should withdraw their application. The electoral committee says the members need to understand the rules of the electoral committee.
ANC Electoral Committee Secretary Chief Livhuwani Matsila says “We cannot allow them to go to court, but they should talk to us more. The gap is that they ask for the lists we tell them that we’re still working on the lists because we are doing the vetting and processing the declines and the acceptance. now whilst we are still doing that, we furnish them with the lists as they are. They don’t come back to us and say they are not satisfied with what you have shared. They simply appeal to the NEC and state the same reasons for 8.5 and I’m saying we have complied with rule 8.5. That’s why we are saying they are quoting the lists out of context.”
The ANC’s renewal agenda has pit party leaders against one another as contradictions have been sharpened, proving that the renewal of the organisation is not an easy task.
