Duarte said Magashule was asked to resign after meeting him and ANC general treasurer Paul Mashatile at Latter’s home.
During the meeting, “our goal was to get feedback from him on his engagement with various ANC officials, including former President Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe, Jacob Zuma and former ANC treasurer Matthews Phosa.”.
Magashule was suspended for refusing to abide by the party’s resignation policy, which requires members accused of corruption to resign from office.
President Ramaphosa set an April 30 deadline for ANC officials charged with corruption to resign. He said Magashule’s deputy Jessie Duarte would serve as General Secretary a powerful post responsible for the daily running of the ANC, while Magashule would lose his position.
Duarte was responding to an emergency motion filed by Magashule against his suspension by the party, claiming that the party’s rule of resignation was unconstitutional and that he had been suspended for another purpose.
Duarte said that the suspension would be reviewed from time to time depending on the outcome of his trial in which he is charged with fraud, corruption and money laundering.
Duarte has remained loyal to Zuma, defending him against critics who say he must obey a constitutional court order to appear before the commission of inquiry set up by Zuma to investigate widespread government corruption under his watch.
One of his allies, businessman and convicted fraudster Tony Yengeni, claimed this week that Zuma and his deputy Jessie Duarte had no authority to issue the suspension letter. In the motion, Duarte seized on Magashula’s claim that his suspension had triggered a crisis in the party and the country.
But he is a complex character and the party is divided in general between the loyal Ramaphosa and those who support Duarte and former President Jacob Zuma, who faces corruption charges. Show Source Texts
Duarte was brought into the top six ANCs by Zuma as deputy general secretary in 2012, where she was a close Zuma ally who promoted racial and gender diversity.
In a letter to Business Day last year, she wrote that she had advised Whitley never to work at the Treasury because it was “controlled by a cabal,” who asked her for advice.
Duarte said the parties were confident Magashule would seize the opportunity and follow the dictates of the ANC constitution. She said the ANC did not have the power to influence the commission.
“We categorically reject the allegation that the ANC is trying to influence the IEC or the Constitutional Court in any way.
South Africa’s ruling party has been riddled with mega-corruption cases since the rule of former President Jacob Zuma.
His successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, led the charge to fire Zuma as president on corruption charges and wants to stand up to the ANC and clean up. Ramaphosa has vowed to root out deep corruption in the ruling party.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The ruling African National Congress (ANC) in- South Africa has suspended its General Secretary, Ace Magashule, in line with stricter rules for party officials charged with corruption, local media reported on Wednesday.
South Africa’s ruling party Jessie Duarte appointed acting secretary general on Monday after the suspension last week of Elias “Ace” Magashule who faces corruption charges, said President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Magashula’s suspension last week was the first by senior party officials forced from office under a new policy aimed at exposing a litany of graft scandals.
He is the most prominent politician convicted since former President Jacob Zuma of corruption and is on the verge of a trial for weapons charges.
At a news conference, South African President Jacob Zuma said at a rowdy conference that he feared no retreat from political office in light of a motion of no confidence in his party, the African National Congress (ANC ).
The truth is that we have more to fear from the continued corruption and inefficiency of Ramaphosa’s government than from the political instability caused by Zuma’s supporters.
Huge damage was done to Zuma and his cronies in the criminal justice system, and the National Prosecuting Authority was not even able to bring charges against either of them.
The Supreme Constitutional Court last week ruled that Jacob Zuma must stand trial on Sunday for contempt of court for refusing to appear before a statutory commission investigating corruption allegations against him.
The applicant could be charged in criminal court with fraud, corruption and money laundering, which could lead to an increase in ANC members doing so.
The ANC has asked the court to dismiss Ace Magashules’ lawsuit challenging his suspension.
Zuma is currently on trial on corruption charges related to an arms deal from his time as vice president. As he waits for South Africa’s chief prosecutor to make a decision whether he will also face old corruption charges related to the two decades-old arms deal.
The deputy secretary of the African National Congress (ANC) general, Jessie Duarte, says that she has never acted inappropriately in her own consultation work with the party collective and that she takes no responsibility for the suspension of ANC general secretary Ace Magashule.
As Deputy Secretary General of the ANC and current Secretary General before the suspension Ace Magashule is accused of fraud and corruption.
Ms. Jessie Duarte has a long history of bias and anti-Israel sentiments and the following letter is relevant in light of the attitude of your ANC governments towards Israel. Ms Duarte and her colleagues stirred up hatred and false accusations against Israel at the start of the recent Gaza conflict.
No one will remember that you made those comments, not to mention the emotions you showed during the tragedy in Syria in recent weeks, when your ANC government enjoyed such warm relations.