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The general opinion was that Ace Magashule needed to vacate the ANC secretary general’s office within a week or he would face suspension.
ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule addresses a press conference after his appearance in Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on charges of fraud and corruption on February 19, 2021. Image: Xanderleigh Dookey Makhaza / Eyewitness News.
JOHANNESBURG – The meeting of the national executive committee of the African National Congress was interrupted Sunday night and forced to pause when supporters of Secretary-General Ace Magashule objected to a seven-day deadline for him and others facing corruption and other serious charges were set aside.
Eyewitness news understands that the general opinion at the NEC meeting was that Magashule needed to leave office within a week, otherwise his deputy, Jessie Duarte, would have to suspend him.
The ANC’s highest decision-making body sat down this weekend for a regular meeting of the NEC.
Party officials had to gather on the sidelines of the meeting just before its chairman, Cyril Ramaphosa, publicly delivered his closing speech.
The ANC has been divided over its 2017 resolution for criminal defendants to step aside. Magashule was accused of corruption over the failed multi-million dollar asbestos project during his tenure as Prime Minister of the Free State.
The ANC’s integrity commission recommended last year that Magashule should resign with immediate effect. If not, the NEC should suspend it.
On Saturday, former President Thabo Mbeki also expressed concern about Magashule’s office, saying that it is currently the weakest in ANC history.
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