MPs urged to support no confidence vote against Zuma in honour of Kathrada

Parliamentarians who plan to honour the late struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada should put the country first by wholeheartedly supporting the motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma.

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation made this call on the eve of a planned special sitting in the National Assembly to honour Kathrada‚ who passed away in March this year aged 87.

The foundation said it learnt last Friday about the planned National Assembly tribute to Kathrada‚ which is to take place on Tuesday.

It said invitations were extended to Kathrada’s wife‚ Barbara Hogan‚ and the Kathrada family on the same day.

The foundation said due to the late notice and it being the Muslim month of Ramadaan‚ the Kathrada family would be unable to honour the invitation.

Hogan would also be unable to attend due to another family bereavement.

The foundation said it appreciated that the National Assembly was dedicating time to pay tribute to one of its first members.

“However‚ a truly fitting statement to Kathrada would be to speak to the issue that troubled him up to his last days: the conduct of President Jacob Zuma‚” the foundation said in a statement.

It said Parliament could fulfil its core obligations to the people of South Africa‚ and truly honour Kathrada’s memory.

It was the National Assembly’s failure to hold the President to account for the Nkandla issue and the subsequent ruling by the Constitutional Court on the matter‚ that prompted Kathrada to write to Zuma imploring him to resign‚ the foundation said.

“If the National Assembly was serious in its intention to honour Kathrada‚ it would not only lend its voice to the call made by Kathrada and many others – it would act on it when the motion of no confidence in the President comes up in the near future.”

The foundation said the National Assembly had the opportunity‚ through the motion of no confidence‚ to start the process of putting the country back on track and re-focusing on the core challenges that South Africa faced. “We would urge parliamentarians to wholeheartedly support the motion of no confidence‚ whether it is through a secret ballot or not.”

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