ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule will not step aside, despite arrest warrant

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule will not step aside from his powerful position despite his scheduled appearance on Friday in the Bloemfontein high court on corruption charges.

This is according to Magashule's deputy, Jessie Duarte, and ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile following a meeting with the embattled secretary-general and the party's top six officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy David Mabuza.

Only national ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe missed the meeting as he "was in an airplane".

Mashatile said Magashule would not be stepping aside yet as the ANC national executive committee was finalising its framework on dealing with its members facing allegations of wrongdoing.

This is despite the adoption of a resolution at the 53rd ANC national conference held in 2017 that leaders facing legal battles should be excluded from political activity.

This is a developing story

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