The MK Party vehemently marched to the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Friday to demand the immediate resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s president.
“As Umkhonto We Sizwe we have given Cyril Ramaphosa a deadline to resign as President of the country because he has failed to act decisively regarding the revelations made by KZN Provincial Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi,” said MK Party Gauteng Provincial Spokesperson Abel Tau in an interview with the media at the Union Buildings.
Tau said President Ramaphosa has demonstrated lack of political will and ability to lead the country by failing to outrightly fire Police Minister Senzo Mchunu but instead opted to institute a commission of inquiry into Mchunu’s matter with the hope that South Africans will eventually forget about this matter and that it will go away.
“But as MK Party we won’t allow this matter to go away without a proper resolution,” said Tau as he emphasised in the process that South Africa cannot be sold to a bunch of thugs.
He said statements made by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni alluding to an imminent coup d’ etat overthrowing of the government) are just a deflection to make South Africans to be afraid of standing up for what is correct.
“Dictatorships always use scare-mongering tactics to rule over citizens with an iron fist and as MK Party we don’t believe that there is a threat to overthrow the government as people of this country are a law-abiding lot and very peaceful,” he said.
“We are going to apply relentless pressure on President Ramaphosa until he leaves office and even disabled people, who are a fraternal structure of the MK Party, will be marching to demand the resignation of President Ramaphosa, on Monday next week,” said Tau.
He pointed out that one of the factors that has failed South Africans is that they (South Africans) have always been angry but not angry enough and that the government knows that it has to bear the pressure for a day or two and South Africans will forget about their demands.
“But this time around the government is facing a vanguard party in the form of MK Party which is a legitimate and legal entity which will persue a controlled revolution,” said Tau.
“If Ramaphosa doesn’t resign today then the MK Party’s national leaders will announce the way forward and we are also calling for the arrest of Minister Senzo Mchunu and National Deputy Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya,” he said.
“Instead of setting up a commission of inquiry, Ramaphosa should have ensured that Sibiya and Mchunu go to court to answer allegations against them,” he enthused.
“Ramaphosa is a constitutional delinquent in that he has violated the Constitution by employing a person who is presently not a member of the cabinet to the position of acting Minister of Police and should have fired Mchunu right away as he has been found to have lied to Parliament and also that he is fraternising with underworld figures,” said a fuming MK Part Spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela.
He said that Ramaphosa is scared of firing Mchunu because the latter would reveal the Independent Police Investigating Directorate (IPID) report which implicates Ramaphosa in the infamous Phala-Phala debacle.
Ndhlela said if Ramaphosa doesn’t resign then MK Party will take the following steps:
1.Go to the Constitutional Court on an urgent basis and seek relief from the apex court’s perspective which would force Ramaphosa to reverse his decision to have three people, namely Senzo Mchunu, Gwede Mantashe and Firos Cachalia as ministers of police at the same time.
2. Table a motion of no confidence in Parliament that Ramaphosa must step down in terms of Section 102 of the Constitution .
3. Embark on a rolling, peaceful mass action campaign countrywide, which is allowed in terms of Section 17 of the Constitution.
“Ramaphosa is totally dislodged from what is actually happening in the country and that is why he has established a national dialogue of elitists who are his friends and are very wealthy like him, but as MK Party we are going to establish a national dialogue of the people whereby we are not going to spend R700 million that Ramaphosa is going to spend, because that amount of money should actually be spent on feeding those who are hungry,” said Ndhlela.
He denounced Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni as a lazy thinker for suggesting that there is a coup d’etat plot underway engineered by outspoken KZN Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and the MK Party.
Upon reaching the Union Buildings, MK Party supporters tried to force their way in; demanding to see President Ramaphosa.
But the police managed to lock the gates and eventually the MK Party members delivered their memorandum before dispersing.
Copy of Memorandum:
Memorandum of Demands to the Presidency ZA and the Police Ministry-1