‘Who is the leader of opposition?’ MPs ask after Hlophe’s suspension

The shadow of suspended MK Party deputy president and parliamentary leader John Hlophe loomed large in the National Assembly on Thursday as MPs asked questions about his whereabouts during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s question and answer session.

This was as Ramaphosa was preparing to answer a question that, before his suspension, Hlophe had placed on the question paper ahead of Thursday’s sitting.

Though Hlophe was suspended on Wednesday, it appears that parliament had not been formally notified and the question paper still had him as the leader of opposition, causing some confusion.

Earlier in the day, there was speculation in the parliamentary corridors whether Hlophe would attend the afternoon Q&A session with Ramaphosa, but later it became clear that Hlophe would not be in parliament as the party did not convene its planned parliamentary caucus meeting.

Hlophe’s question, which referred to him as the leader of opposition, led to a ruckus in the National Assembly as MPs from the MK Party exchanged harsh words with MPs who asked if it was accurate to refer to Hlophe as the leader of opposition.

The EFF’s Omphile Maotwe and the DA’s John Steenhuisen asked speaker Thoko Didiza who was the leader following reports that MK Party leader Jacob Zuma had suspended Hlophe.

But MK Party MPs quickly interjected, saying this was not something they should be concerned about.

“It’s none of her business. It’s none of anyone’s business anyway,” said one of the MK Party’s MPs.

Steenhuisen rose on a point of order, saying: “Madam speaker, it’s the former leader of the opposition. I’m a bit worried about who my successor’s title is in this house”.

Didiza said parliament had not been officially informed of any changes in the leadership of the MK Party in parliament.

“Let me explain honourable members that once the speaker has been appropriately informed of members of parliament and their responsibilities by their parties we will accordingly advise. So for now we have not been properly advised as to any changes if any,” she said.

It’s none of her business. It’s none of anyone’s business anyway.

—  MK Party, MP in National Assembly

The MK Party’s Brian Molefe took the supplementary question on behalf of Hlophe and took a swipe at Steenhuisen.

“Honourable Steenhuisen must focus on his first-year studies first,” said Molefe, before asking the supplementary question about the deployment of an elite police unit to Richards Bay Minerals.

The question was about whether Ramaphosa had been responsible for the deployment of the specialised task force as well as the national intervention unit to protect interests of a private company.

Ramaphosa said as much as he was aware of Richards Bay Minerals spanning from the 1980s when he was the general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, he had not given an instruction for police to be deployed there.

This duty, he said, was a responsibility of the police commissioner.

Ramaphosa said, however, he had received a briefing earlier about how executives of the mine were being killed.

He admitted to raising this concern with the security cluster but emphasised that he had not issued an instruction for police to be deployed there.

This question was meant to be asked by Hlophe but had to be taken by Molefe after the judge’s suspension on Wednesday night.

Zuma suspended Hlophe and removed him as the party’s parliamentary leader over what he says was an unlawful removal of caucus chief whip Colleen Makhubele.

Makhubele, believed to be out of the country, was axed as MK Party chief whip, removed from WhatsApp groups and replaced with Des van Rooyen in the middle of the night on Tuesday in a decision that has now been reversed by Zuma.

Upon returning from Burkina Faso on Wednesday, Zuma suspended Hlophe and reversed the removal of Makhubele and nullified the 24-hour appointment of Van Rooyen, who has now beat his own record of holding the position of finance minister for only four days, gaining the colloquial title of ‘Weekend Special’.

Head of presidency Magasela Mzobe announced on Wednesday night that Zuma had taken a decision to suspend Hlophe from all his roles in the party and parliament.

“The president has taken a decision to issue a precautionary suspension to the party’s deputy president and the leader of MK Party parliament caucus Dr John Hlophe from both his leadership roles with immediate effect, pending a full investigation on his conduct,” read the statement by Mzobe.

“This decision is meant to affirm and send a strong message and the principle of collective leadership across all structures within the uMkhonto weSizwe Party. Consequently, the decision taken by Dr Hlophe to remove Cde Colleen Makhubele and appoint Cde Des van Rooyen is therefore nullified.”

Mzobe sought to suggest that Zuma had frowned upon what was seemingly a unilateral decision by Hlophe to replace Makhubele with Van Rooyen.

“The leadership of the MK Party remains firmly united and committed to upholding the principles of discipline, accountability and collective decision-making as enshrined in the party constitution. This decision should be viewed as a demonstration of the party’s unwavering commitment to internal party discipline and collective leadership,” the statement read.