Ousted trade-union boss Willie Madisha came out firing at his detractors on Wednesday, saying he had been victimised by ”political imbeciles”.
”I have been politically victimised … and unlike some politicians who make this claim and have no evidence to back it up, I have plenty,” he told reporters in Johannesburg.
Madisha, who intends challenging his axing as president of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) in court, denied being either pro-Mbeki or pro-Zuma.
”When we go to the Equality Court, we will be able to raise these things,” he added.
Sadtu fired their president of 13 years on Monday, saying Madisha had been found guilty of unprofessional conduct.
This was because he had spoken to the media about an alleged R500Â 000 donation to South African Communist Party (SACP) secretary general Blade Nzimande, and for disobeying a Sadtu and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) resolution to support Jacob Zuma’s candidacy for African National Congress president.
Madisha has also been dismissed as Cosatu leader and expelled from the SACP over the same issues.
But Madisha said perceptions were wrong that he was a supporter of President Thabo Mbeki instead of Zuma.
”I want to clarify this point … it is not true. Both of them are my leaders. I support them both.”
He said the union leaders misunderstood a remark he made about women’s rights where he said ”No one is allowed to simply misuse women or rape women because they are in miniskirts,” at about the time that Zuma was facing a rape charge.
”But I never said Zuma does this thing or Zuma does that thing … [Cosatu leaders] said ‘This thing you said is directed at Zuma’. I said: ‘But you are wrong’.”
Madisha said he apologised in the media for any misinterpretation of his comments.
”But Cosatu, Sadtu, they said: ‘You don’t want Zuma, you are fired’. They don’t understand anything. They are political imbeciles who can’t even pronounce their own names,” said Madisha, declining to name the ”imbeciles”.
Madisha’s eight-year Cosatu presidency came to an end after businessman Charles Modise laid a complaint with the police, saying a donation of R500Â 000 to the SACP had gone missing. Madisha, who was an SACP central committee member, said he gave the money to SACP secretary general Blade Nzimande, who denied receiving it.
But Madisha said the allegations against him surfaced after he started investigating Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi for allegedly misusing a Cosatu credit card.
Madisha, whose benefits as trade-union boss have been suspended, said he had cashed in insurance policies to take his Sadtu dismissal to the Equality Court.
He is now earning the salary of a junior teacher.
”I am pursuing this because of mainly one thing ,and that is to fight for a principle … that what has happened to me, [will] not happen against any other elected leader.”
In a statement issued after Madisha’s press conference, Sadtu said: ”What Madisha is hiding from the public is that he admitted through his representative at the investigation inquiry that the utterances he made on South African Broadcasting Corporation news were directed to Mr Jacob Zuma.”
It said Madisha had delayed proceedings by asking for the recusal of Sadtu deputy president Thobile Ntola, had claimed he never received certain documents, and had asked for changes to scheduled meeting times so that he could consult witnesses.
Sadtu said that he walked out of a meeting on July 23, even though he had been warned that it would continue in his absence.
They said he still had the right to appeal the decision to sack him. — Sapa