Carl Niehaus is seen outside in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on 10 June 2022. Picture: Gallo Images/Volksblad/Mlungisi Louw
Former African National Congress (ANC) member and African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (Areta) leader Carl Niehaus has joined the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday, Niehaus confirmed that his party would not register to contest the upcoming 2024 general elections.
ALSO READ: 2024 Elections: Niehaus planning to unite parties in favour of RET ideals
“We will join the EFF also in our capacity as individual members starting with me as I am standing here today,” he announced.
Niehaus also called on former president Jacob Zuma not to campaign for the ANC ahead of the elections.
Niehaus was booted from the ANC in December 2022, but he later resigned from the governing party despite his expulsion.
It was not the first time Niehaus was dismissed from the ANC.
In September 2021, he was kicked out of the ruling party, however, his membership was later reinstated.
The governing party had failed to charge him over allegations of putting the party into disrepute for comments he made about Zuma’s incarceration a few months earlier.
READ MORE: Niehaus vows to discard ‘ANC scumbags into garbage bin of history’
After his departure from the ANC for good, Niehaus established an organisation called Radical Economic Transformation (RET) Movement which, at the time, he stated was not a political party.
After consultations, the former uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) spokesperson then announced that the RET Movement was being renamed Areta.
He registered the party with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in April this year.