Twitter (Carl Niehaus)
ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte has branded as shameful the actions of some members of Mkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans (MKMVA) at Nkandla.
She also dropped a bombshell at a media briefing on Tuesday, announcing that the NEC had approved the immediate disbandment of MKMVA and the MK Council.
Duarte was reporting back on the NEC’s meeting on Monday which had been convened to discuss the recent developments at Nkandla following former President Jacob Zuma's 15-month jail sentence for contempt of Court.
Hundreds of people had converged on the former president's homestead at Nkandla over the weekend, vowing to form a human shield around him to protect him from being arrested.
Duarte said what happened at Nkandla did not represent a popular uprising but was orchestrated from within the ANC.
She said Umkhonto we Sizwe was due to celebrate 60-years as a liberation army that prided itself on discipline.
She maintained, however, that the threat of violence aimed at undermining South Africa’s democracy was counter-revolutionary and similar to the actions of extreme right-wing elements.
Duarte said the NEC had also instructed the Secretary General's Office and Provincial Secretary to urgently investigate and initiate disciplinary action against the organisers responsible for the incitement of violence and defiance of Covid-19 regulations at Nkandla.
“They have also been instructed to find the individuals responsible for burning ANC regalia which violates the ANC's constitution and code of Conduct,” said Duarte.
On Monday, police Minister Bheki Cele defended SAPS for not making any arrests, stating that protesters at Nkandla were armed and were firing off shots in the presence of women and children.
