Ace Magashule takes ANC members to task for criticising public protector and party

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has warned members of the party to respect Chapter 9 institutions.

Magashule defended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's office after some questioned whether her decisions were politically motivated.

This comes after ANC chair Gwede Mantashe criticised Mkhwebane's investigation into a donation of R500,000 made by Bosasa in 2017 to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Respect

According to a News24 report, Magashule said although some ANC members did not agree with her, they must respect her office.

"The position of the ANC is that we respect Chapter 9 institutions. We may disagree with her, agree or whatever … People have said we must leave the judiciary, the legislature and Chapter 9 institutions to do their work," he said.

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Magashule said respect for the public protector's office must be consistent.

"What I can say on behalf of the ANC is that we must respect that office, even if we have our own views, because tomorrow, when something happens, we shall have taught South Africa not to respect these institutions. We need to be consistent here," said Magashule.

Tweeting

Speaking on eNCA, Magasule also warned party members against criticising the ANC's leadership on social media.

Magashule was referring to Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina, who took to Twitter to slam President Ramaphosa's decision to include Pravin Gordhan in his cabinet.

"We will engage with those comrades who are tweeting. We will engage everybody and will now say to them, it stops here," he said.