Kebby Maphatsoe, president of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Veterans’ Association (MKVA), has landed in hot water over a recording in which he appears to take aim at the incumbent administration.
‘We shall not submit. We will fight back with everything at our disposal in the defence of our people, our future and our freedom,’ he is heard to say. MK veterans were ‘the spear that will strike against the enemy in defence of our people.’
When asked about this, Maphatsoe said that his frame of reference had been defending the ‘revolution’ and the wellbeing of former MK members.
Following a meeting with the ‘top six’ officials of the African National Congress (ANC) on Monday, Maphatsoe said: ‘The officials raised their concerns, but I also explained that we don’t mean to revolt against the ANC. I told the officials that comrades are getting more disgruntled and there is growing frustration.’
The meeting was ‘fruitful’, he said.
The MKVA, generally seen as being loyal to former president Jacob Zuma, has undertaken a number of public demonstrations recently. Maphatsoe said that more would be held.