The uMkhonto we Sizwe Party has removed its Deputy President and Parliamentary Leader, Dr John Hlophe, from both of his leadership roles. This has been termed a precautionary suspension.
This comes after changes were made to the MK Party in Parliament, with Colleen Makhubele having been replaced as Chief Whip by Des Van Rooyen. This had been done without a “collective consultation”.
In a statement, the party said that President Jacob Zuma had taken the step “as a demonstration of the party’s unwavering commitment to internal party disciple and collective leadership.”
The suspension would remain in force while an investigation was being undertaken into Hlophe’s conduct.
This also follows the recent appointment of Tony Yengeni as Second Deputy President of the party.
The MK Party has seen a rapid turnover of officials, which has kept the organisation very strongly centred around and identified with its leader.
[Image: By EFF Podcast – EFF podcast Episode 13, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=149715704]