PAC’s Mphahlele not appealing expulsion

Expelled PAC president Letlapa Mphahlele on Thursday rejected an invitation to the party’s annual conference where he was expected to appeal his expulsion, and labelled it a “clown’s kangaroo court”.

“The matter is before the high court and there is no way that Mphahlele will attend that conference to appeal his expulsion. This conference has no legal standing and the [national executive committee] that expelled him did not even form a quorum.  

“The president cannot be subjected to these clowns. It is just a kangaroo court,” said the party’s attorney Jongikhaya Gwe.

On June 14 the High Court in Johannesburg ruled in Mphahlele’s favour, setting his expulsion aside and dissolving the NEC that expelled him.

The NEC, which is organising the conference, set for Friday and Saturday in Boksburg, has filed an application for leave to appeal the ruling.

Mphahlele was expelled from the party in May on charges of financial impropriety, bringing the party into disrepute, and not steering the party in the right direction.

PAC secretary general Narius Moloto said Mphahlele was expected to attend the conference and to appeal the NEC’s decision to expel him from the party.

“The party has written to Mphahlele inviting him to attend the conference and if he is unhappy, to appeal the decision to expel him. The conference will give him a chance to present his case,” he said.

Gwe dismissed the letter as invalid as it was not dated.

He accused Moloto of trying to destabilise the party in view of the forthcoming national elections next year.

“Here we are seeing the destabilisation of the PAC happening again. In 2008 towards the elections a similar kind of thing happened when Thami ka Plaatjie and later Themba Godi tried to destabilise the party,” he said.  

The two had been rewarded for a job well done, as Ka Plaatjie was appointed to the SABC board and Godi became chair of the standing committee on public accounts in Parliament, Gwe said.

Moloto refuted Gwe’s claims and said the NEC was empowered to remove leaders who did not do their work diligently and that this was not a personal issue.

He said: “Since Mphahlele was elected to the leadership of the party, he has consistently failed to raise its profile. He is not beholden to the party but to himself and creating factions within the party. He should understand that leadership is a privilege and not a right. The party can take that right at any time.” 

His removal was therefore not personal, Moloto said.