Suspended ANC Secretary General, Ace Magashule, says no one will ban him under a democracy nor remove the governing party from him.
Magashule was speaking outside the High Court in Pietermaritzburg.
He was part of several high-ranking ANC officials who had gone there to support former President Jacob Zuma, who is facing fraud and corruption charges.
Addressing Zuma’s supporters outside court Magashule said: “I am going to be short because am banned, but I can assure you…nobody – nobody under a democracy will ban me. Nobody will remove the ANC from me. I won’t form a party, I won’t leave the ANC and I die in the ANC.”
He also promised to mobilise everyone, including people who are not ANC members, to come to the trial of the former president. “Next week we will being the whole Free State here. We want the whole KZN here on the 26th of May.”
#Zumatrial WATCH Suspended ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule sings, ahead of the address by former president Jacob Zuma to his supporters outside of the Pietermaritzburg High Court. #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/hDqd7WwvOV
— Abongile Dumako (@AbongileDumako) May 17, 2021
Among conditions for the suspended ANC Secretary-General is that he doesn’t pronounce on ANC matters. He was also asked to apologise to ANC structures for unilaterally suspending party President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
When SABC News’ Senior Political Reporter, Samkele Maseko, asked him whether he will ever apologise for the move, Magashule said: “I’m in court my brother. We were here to support him. President Zuma was ready. He has always been ready. I’m ready for any court action.”
ANC dynamics play themselves out at former president’s court appearance:
Magashule is challenging his suspension in court and wants it to declare the party’s step-aside resolution uncostitutional. The resolution orders members facing serious charges to temporarily vacate office.
ANC NEC member, Tony Yengeni, reiterated his support for both Zuma and Magashule.
On Magashule’s suspension, he said no party leader elected at a conference should be removed from office willy nilly.
#ZumaTrial Yengeni:The ANC irreconcilable ideological differences. They are irreconcilable. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/iLJghYAnEa
— #TheLordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) May 17, 2021
Earlier, ANC high-ranking officials in KwaZulu-Natal, provincial chairperson Sihle Zikalala and provincial secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli, were booed by the Zuma supporters.
‘Don’t fight battles here’
Zuma called for restraint, saying: “We are here for the trial and not political activities. Please comrades let’s talk about issues like comrades.”
“If we come here to support Zuma…let’s do that and not do other things. The battles you want to fight…please do it elsewhere and not here. If I need to deal with a comrade, let’s do it in a proper platform,” urged the former ANC President.
#Zumatrial WATCH: Former president Jacob Zuma says all he wants is a fair justice process, the law must be fair to all. #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/y2xEjIpUua
— Abongile Dumako (@AbongileDumako) May 17, 2021
Zuma says he wants the court to apply the law properly.
“They said on the 26 we are coming back for the trial. I don’t want to say much because we will say a lot in court. This case isn’t fair and it has people who were conniving with law enforcement agencies, swearing (at) me yet they are in charge of the case,” he said.
Zuma and arms company Thales face charges linked to the arms deal.
The former President’s full address is in the video below:
De Lille ready to testify
Public Works Minister, Patricia de Lille, who is scheduled to be the first witness in the case says she’s more than ready to give evidence next week. De Lille raised the alarm on the allegations of corruption in the arms deal more than 20 years ago. She was also in court on Monday.
“The arms deal saga more than 22 years ago it was a test for government. If we had acted quicker and responded to the corruption allegations 22 years ago we would have not been in the pandemic of corruption that we see today. Because after that it became a free for all as we are seeing now. I’m relieved that it’s began, even if it’ll take another week, it’s fine it’s going to start,” she said.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) reiterated that it is ready for trial.
NPA Spokesperson, Sipho Ngwema, says the State will closely examine the plea from the defense as well as calls for the recusal of the state’s Advocate Billy Downer.
“We need to understand in terms of what they are raising. We’ll see the application as it comes and we are hoping we should be able to deal with that but at face value Billy has been a member of the national prosecuting authority for many years. They have been dealing with him on this case for the last 2 decades as a member of the NPA. I hope and we hope this is not a way of bringing issues that have failed before with regards to the politicisation of this cause and using those issues to collapse the matter,” says Ngwema.
Former President Zuma is expected to enter his plea when the case returns to court next week Wednesday.
