Sibonelo Nomvalo, the sacked secretary-general of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party has unleashed a tirade against the so-called rogue faction of the former president Jacob Zuma-led formation.
Nomvalo, who addressed the media in Durban on Friday in the aftermath of his unceremonious departure, blamed former ANC eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her supporters for orchestrating his removal from the strategic position.
He claimed that the sole reason for removing him was so that the cabal would install its own mayors and municipal managers in various councils in KwaZulu-Natal and loot public funds.
The various polls conducted ahead of the November 4 elections have shown that the MK party will dominate several key municipalities including eThekwini, the only metro in the province.
Gumede is currently facing a fraud and corruption trial relating to her alleged involvement in the multi-million rand Durban Solid Waste tender where contracts were apparently awarded to handpicked cronies and comrades. This was during her tenure as eThekwini mayor.
“It’s important that we warn MK Party members that people who collapsed the eThekwini municipality are planning to commit another political heist. We must never allow them to do that. The same plots which were used to destroy some people in the ANC have found expression in the MK party. There are people who want to have control and who want to monopolise the deployment process in the party,” Nomvalo charged.
He also stated that a political cartel led by Gumede, mayoral candidate Mxolisi Phakathi and Lindelani Mbambo, the MK party’s head of presidency, had manufactured several fake intelligence reports compelling Zuma to recall him, but he survived. He claimed that the cabal was manipulating Zuma and taking advantage of his advanced age. Nomvalo also told journalists that a decision to sack him had been engineered at Zimbali, a posh suburb located in the north coast of the province.
Zuma is not conducting any party duties because of ill health.
According to Nomvalo, a plethora of falsehoods were advanced in order to remove him from office. These include allegations that he had been paid by president Cyril Ramaphosa to destroy the MK party from within.
“I was not shocked by this decision. If anything, it is something I’ve always been expecting to witness anytime. My mind was long prepared for this. It was prepared by numerous failed attempts to remove me through the following fake intelligence reports submitted to President Zuma. The first intelligence report was submitted to President Zuma, at night in a hotel in Durban. The report was saying I’m an agent of comrade Dr Zweli Mkhize,” he said.
Nomvalo also became emotional when he relayed that the MK party shenanigans had a severe mental toll on him and almost collapsed his marriage.
“This thing has almost affected my marriage. My wife suffered depression and was hospitalised because of what was happening," he stated between sobs.
He also used the briefing to call for the party’s rank and file to protect Zuma from scoundrels using his old age to manipulate him in endorsing rogue decisions.
“The old man (Zuma) must be protected at all costs. There are many decisions which he made based on fake intelligence reports. People are manipulating him,” he charged.
Another allegation, which according to Nomvalo broke the camel's back, was the lie peddled against him that he wanted to use the party’s botched policy conference to remove Zuma. As a result, the policy conference, which was planned for July, this year was subsequently canceled.
Nomvalo also announced that while he remained a member of the MK party, he will soon launch his own foundation to give back to the poor.