Magashule can still appeal his expulsion from the party: Analyst

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Political Analyst, Levy Ndou says former African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General, Ace Magashule can still appeal his expulsion from the party.

Magashule was expelled following his failure to furnish the National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) with reasons as to why he should remain in the party.

It had found him guilty of two charges of misconduct after Magashule had written to party President, Cyril Ramaphosa, suspending him in 2021. This was an apparent tit-for-tat after Magashule himself was suspended amid a corruption trial in the Free State.

The second charge relates to his failure to apologise to Ramaphosa after the letter. Ndou says Magashule can challenge the outcome.

“He might also decide to write a letter to the officials of the party and challenge the outcome of the disciplinary action maybe on technicalities and other aspects. That might give him a little bit of an opportunity to get a hearing. Or he might decide to get out of politics and focus on other things or he might also then decide to form his political party or join other political parties,” Ndou explains.

VIDEO: Ace Magashule expelled from ANC:

Meanwhile, ANC National Spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, has poured cold water on assertions that the unity of the party will come under threat with the expulsion of its former Secretary-General just 10 months before the elections.

The party has struggled to ensure the unity of members, with frictions often being laid bare. After Ramaphosa’s election at the helm, he promised to prioritise the renewal of the organisation.

Bhengu-Motsiri says the ANC’s 55th national conference echoed the importance of the renewal of the party.

“The current leadership of the ANC has been given very strong marching orders by the 55th National Conference of the ANC regarding the need to renew the organisation and to act against all forms of malfeasance but that committee has acted, as it should continue to act, in the best interests of renewal project of ANC so in as far as the pre-election season, that does not stop the ANC from putting its house in order.”

Meanwhile, expelled former ANC member Carl Niehaus, says the ANC that he and Magashule joined is now dead.

VIDEO: Carl Niehaus reacts to Ace Magashule’s expulsion from the ANC:

However, Magashule has previously stated that he would never leave the ANC.

“I am not going anywhere. I am not going to any party. I’m member of ANC. I will die in the ANC. I will remain a member of the ANC until I die.”

Former ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule in high spirits following his expulsion from the party: