The constitution of the ANC should be applied against the party’s members of Parliament who voted with the opposition for last week’s motion of no-confidence in his leadership, says President Jacob Zuma.
Made in KwaZulu-Natal, the province where his support is strongest, his comments topped a weekend of political addresses by members of the ANC in campaign mode, including Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and fellow party-presidential hopefuls Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu.
Zuma quoted from the ANC constitution, saying it prohibited members from collaborating against the ANC. The constitution, he said, called for such individuals to face the party’s disciplinary committee.
"You hear a person saying, ‘I’m following my conscience’. Please do not have your conscience, have an ANC conscience. The unity of the ANC is key and paramount to solving problems. Let’s not do otherwise. Many people died for this freedom and we are just toying with it," the president said.
Meanwhile, the president’s friends, the Gupta family, were mentioned at an ANC Women’s League event at the Germiston Stadium on Sunday.
ANC Ekurhuleni chairman Mzwandile Masina said those who spread rumours that Dlamini-Zuma’s candidature was a project of the Guptas were lying.
Dlamini-Zuma has emphasised she was not standing as Zuma’s former wife, but the shadow of his relationship with the Gupta family has reached her, after disclosures that she had asked the Guptas to pay for a journalist’s trip.
Dlamini-Zuma addressed the rally in isiZulu and emphasised that the Freedom Charter stated that land had to be returned to those who live on it.
At a third event on Sunday, Ramaphosa, flanked by former Ekurhuleni mayor and Zuma critic Mondli Gungubele, positioned himself against state capture and the Guptas.
Ramaphosa was endorsed by the Ekurhuleni branches of ANC youth and women’s leagues during a packed meeting in Tembisa that laid bare divisions in ANC structures in the region. Regional leader Masina was not present, choosing instead to attend the meeting endorsing Dlamini-Zuma.
Ramaphosa said the ANC desperately needed leaders who would not appoint thieves and clueless people to office. The crowd chanted "Zuma" when he said the ANC needed to face up to the evidence of state capture.
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