Court proceedings into ‘asbestos-gate’ continue on Friday in Bloemfontein, Free State, and already the provincial capital has seen a convoy of buses carrying Ace Magashule supporters who will make their voices heard outside the magistrate’s court.
Watch: Ace Magashule supporters storm Free State capital
In a true show of factionalism, ANC supporters disembarked from buses in song, chanting their allegiance to Magashule, who stands accused of masterminding the infamous asbestos saga that saw the plundering of R255 million.
#Magashule More buses transporting supporters of @MYANC SG @Magashule_Ace arrive at the Rose Gardens in Bloemfontein. Magashule & his co-accused are due back in court today on corruption charges related to the asbestos project. #eNCA pic.twitter.com/x0yfC8Lvlf
— Siphamandla Goge (@SiphamandlaGoge) February 19, 2021
#Magashule @Magashule_Ace @MYANC SG supporters sing as they gather at the Rose Gardens ahead of his court appearance in Bloemfontein on corruption charges. #eNCA pic.twitter.com/9NdWhpVphX
— Siphamandla Goge (@SiphamandlaGoge) February 19, 2021
This great show of support for the secretary-general is in stark contrast to the sentiment shared by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the ruling party’s stance on corruption.
This scale of defiance is, yet again, another indication of the existence of factions within the ANC that don’t regard Ramaphosa as a figure of authority.
Will Magashule be suspended anytime soon?
The question that lingers on within the ranks of the ruling party concerns the booting of Magashule which, by principle, is in line with the party’s step-aside policy.
According to the latter, ANC officials who are meddled in criminal cases ought to step aside, pending the outcome of an appraisal chaired by a commission led by party veterans, including former president Kgalema Motlanthe.
Currently, the party’s NEC is at odds with how to adopt this policy in Magashule’s case, a high-ranking figure in the ANC with great influence.
Per News24, a source close to the situation has indicated that consultations must be made with the party’s branches before a decision is made on the enactment of the policy on the SG.
“Many of Ace’s supporters realised they can’t fight the guidelines. So what they saying is that they need to first go talk to branches about this before any decision was taken,” the source claimed.
At the time this article was published, court proceedings into asbestos-gate had not commenced.