ANC heavyweight is suspended

Ngwenya, a staunch supporter of both former President Jacob Zuma and currently suspended ANC secretary, Ace Magashule, was served with his suspension letter this past Saturday.

His suspension has been looming for weeks following the recent incident of violence that broke out in Nkomazi during the party’s branch meeting at which a number of members were reportedly assaulted and hospitalised.

Last Sunday, Ngwenya travelled to Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal to offer support for Zuma before he handed himself over to the police. This is not the first time Ngwenya has been suspended from activities of the organisation. He was suspended in 2019 after he allegedly assaulted the party’s acting provincial secretary, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, during a scuffle that broke out during an official meeting of the ANC at Nutting House. Ngwenya, a heavyweight within Ehlanzeni, was supposed to have called a press conference to brief the media about his suspension and the recent developments within this organisation.

Even though the ANC’s statement was vague on details, news circulating in social media platforms suggest that he was suspended for his support for Zuma and for breaking the Covid-19 regulations.

ALSO READ: Fondse ingesamel met elke kilometer wat dié wawiel aflê

“The ANC in Mpumalanga has taken a decision to summarily suspend the membership of Michael ‘Ngrayi’ Ngwenya for a number of acts which appear to be in conflict with the constitution, values, principles and traditions of the ANC.

The ANC took a decision to temporarily suspend the membership of Ngrayi Ngwenya after it considered the nature and seriousness of the alleged misconduct or contravention, the impact of the alleged contravention on the proper functioning of the organisation and the likelihood of further acts of similar misconduct if his membership is not temporarily suspended,” read part of the statement released by the ANC shortly after Ngwenya’s suspension. “This temporary suspension is part of a disciplinary process initiated by the ANC in the province.

Ngwenya will have a fair chance to respond to the charges levelled against him and give his version of the events that led to the ANC taking this drastic, but necessary decision.

The disciplinary process is initiated in terms of rule 25 of the ANC constitution which, among many other things, explicitly says disciplinary processes must not be used to stifle internal debate, but as used a last resort to restore discipline and cohesion in the organisation,” continued the statement.