Makhosi Khoza’s party appears to be at war with itself

The confusion over the suspension of the founder and leader of the African Democratic Change (ADeC) party, Makhosi Khoza, appears to increase with each passing statement released by opposing factions within the party.

The trouble started after a statement, supposedly released by the deputy president of ADeC, Thokozani Msomi, announced that the party had come to a resolution to suspend former ANC MP Khoza for “bringing the party into disrepute”.

According to Msomi, Khoza had turned into a dictator who undermined the party’s democratic nature and structures.

“The ADeC president [Khoza] started engaging with organisational membership and structures through the media.

“She made serious pronouncements in the media, including on Politics Unusual, which was not part of the founding conference resolutions and was not discussed and adopted by ADeC … [She was also] going around issuing people with letters of appointment as members of boards without employment contracts,” he said.

Khoza responded to the announcement of her suspension by saying, “I have not resigned from ADeC. I have also not been suspended from ADeC … I have started this process and will fight on until my last breath.”

The acting spokesperson of ADeC, Bongani Masilela, said Khoza’s claims of not being suspended were “nonsense”.

“She was suspended by ADeC members because she went behind our backs to unlawfully open a civil society organisation, funded by Isaac Shongwe, using the ADeC trademark.

“This is against the democratic nature of ADeC and its structures, as it was formally formed as an active political party on the first and second of December last year.

“We will still deal with her, as we do not want a situation where she uses her popularity to dismantle South Africans,” he told The Citizen yesterday.

But Khoza, who founded the party, said it was initially started as a civil society movement and the party has never purely been a political entity.

She also said she had never heard of Masilela and that the noise surrounding her alleged suspension was because of the party’s initial refusal to accept former EFF members Mpho Ramakatsa and Lufuno Gogoro as members.

“After these people were rejected, they set up an imbizo where they elected themselves into positions,” said Khoza.

“No one from ADeC was there. If you go and ask them now, they will tell you they don’t have membership and they have never paid any membership fees because the ADeC nonprofit organisation is a civil society movement.”

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