An Umlazi teacher who quit her job after taking a position as an MP for the Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party now has no source of income.
Ntombenhle Mkhize is among 19 MK MPs who were told they were no longer wanted in the National Assembly. Nine, including Mkhize, took the matter to court and are now appealing a Western Cape High Court ruling against them.
Mkhize was a teacher at Qhilika High School in Umlazi, Durban, where she became an MK activist.
She had already quit her teaching job when MK expelled her and 18 other MPs from Parliament.
Despite her expulsion and decision to appeal the court ruling favouring MK, Mkhize campaigned for the party in the by-elections held in Durban and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday.
When contacted by Scrolla.Africa, Mkhize said: “I won’t be able to speak to you because I am busy with party by-election campaigns here.”
Last month, she told the weekly Zulu newspaper Ilanga that she hopes to return to Parliament.
Mpho Motshegoe, also fighting his expulsion as an MK MP, told Scrolla.Africa that he and eight other former MK MPs are taking the fight forward over their expulsion from Parliament.
“I am not unemployed because before I joined MK, I already had businesses that are still up and running. In fact I’m still self-employed. But we are challenging the ruling against the MK party in court,” said Motshegoe.
The nine expelled MK MPs are understood to be ignoring suggestions that they should resolve their dispute with the party leaders – including MK deputy president, impeached judge John Hlophe.
The MK party still has eight vacant seats in Parliament and the expelled group want a court order to block MK from sending in new MPs.
Party leader Jacob Zuma said the group was told not to take their seats as the party was reviewing its delegation to the National Assembly.
Recently, their lawyer described Zuma as a dictator, and this has upset MK party leaders.
Pictured above: Umlazi teacher Ntombenhle Mkhize who was left unemployed after the MK removed her and 18 other members from Parliament.
