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By Sifiso Mahlangu, Sihle Mavuso 
4h ago
Johannesburg – Former intelligence minister Bongani Bongo says he is going nowhere.
The defiant ANC member NEC has criticized reports that he had resigned.
Bongo told Independent Media that the ANC would not act against the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa by trying to remove him from his parliamentary post without evidence. He said he wanted clarity on the basis of his resignation.
These recent developments come after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “new rule” that NEC members and ANC members in public office accused of corruption and serious crimes should step aside.
Last week, there were reports that Bongo had resigned as a member of Parliament and the NEC.
Independent Media has now learned that the news was spread on a WhatsApp group and shared on social media, but Parliament had not received a resignation letter from Bongo.
Bongo, a defender, faces corruption charges for allegedly attempting to derail a parliamentary investigation into Eskom’s affairs.
“I want the ANC Integrity Commission to clarify for me why I should step aside when I have not been convicted of any crime.
“We will navigate dangerous terrain if we do not obey the constitution of the ANC and that of the Republic. I’m not going anywhere, ”Bongo said.
Bongo joins some 15 members of the ANC NEC who have cases to present to the Integrity Commission.
Last week, President Ramaphosa announced that he would submit to the commission. This came after the commission announced that it had not authorized Vice President David Mabuza, ANC President Gwede Mantashe, and Vice Finance Minister David Masondo.
Ramaphosa is embroiled in an adverse finding by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane about the financing of his CR-17 presidential campaign.
Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan has to respond to allegations that he established a rogue unit during his time at SA Revenue Services.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Thandi Modise, is also in a court battle after she was criminally charged with abuse of animals.
On Friday, Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams promised that she would also appear before the commission after Independent Media’s Special Investigation unit published a story exposing secret recordings in which the minister told her board members not doing business with her husband Thato Abrahams.
Former Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, Secretary General Ace Magashule, Dr. Bandile Masuku of the Gauteng Health MEC and Presidential Spokesperson Khusela Diko also face pressure to submit to the commission.
Bongo said: “The ANC constitution does not say that I should step aside, the Constitution says that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. So what I asked for was a written instruction. “
He added that upon receiving the letter, he would take it to court and see if it passed a legal test.
“They should not act arbitrarily,” he emphasized.
When asked why he is hell-bent on challenging the party’s decision, Bongo cited the 2012 case of Mpho Ramakatsa, a former ANC member who took the party to court for firing him because he took him to court instead of relying on internal mechanisms. Ramakatsa won the case.
He said the court affirmed that the ANC’s constitution is not above that of the country and its members can take it to court.
Bongo punched more holes in the ANC’s decision and said the passed laws should not be applied retroactively.
“The law does not apply retrospectively. You cannot pass a law today and say that it allows me to go back and find someone who did something wrong years ago and use the law against them.
“The law begins to be applied from cases that happened the day it was approved. Look at our Constitution, it began to apply in 1996, the year it was approved, “he said.
ANC spokespersons Pule Mabe and Dakota Lekgoete were available last night for comment.
Luthuli House sources revealed last night that a virtual Top 6 meeting was held to discuss the ANC members involved in the VBS scandal.
However, they could not accept that the members involved were relieved of their duties. Ramaphosa is said to have suggested that legal experts be consulted to “avoid a legal catastrophe.”
The Star / Political Bureau
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