Johannesburg – The African National Congress (ANC) has suspended disbanded uMkhonto wesizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA)’s spokesperson Carl Niehaus with immediate effect.
The party’s national executive committee (NEC), which held a special meeting on Monday, said that inflammatory speeches made by Niehaus over the weekend while he dressed in ANC regalia had brought the organization into disrepute.
Niehaus, who is a close ally of both former President Jacob Zuma and suspended secretary-general, Ace Magashule, was in Nkandla as part of demonstrations against the former president being jailed.
He threatened that there would be instability in the country if police took Zuma into custody.
The ANC in suspending Niehaus did not even grant him a 48-hour period to plead his case.
The NEC has accused him of bringing the party into disrepute.
Niehaus has made himself the voice of both Zuma and Magashule’s defence force – this has seen him leveling attacks at the ANC and some of its decisions.
In a letter of suspension, signed off by deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, the ANC raised concerns about Niehaus being allowed to carry on during a volatile political period.
Niehaus, however, did have the opportunity to appeal this sanction.
