Jacob Zuma appoints Des van Rooyen as acting parliamentary leader of MKP

Former president Jacob Zuma has appointed Des van Rooyen as uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s (MKP) acting parliamentary leader, the post held by suspended party deputy president, Dr John Hlophe. 

The MKP announced on November 5 that Hlophe had been suspended from party activities pending a full investigation into his conduct. 

It accused Hlophe of replacing Collen Makhubele with Van Rooyen as the parliamentary chief whip without consulting members of the party’s National High Command, of which he is a member. 

He allegedly took this decision while Zuma was out of the country, visiting the President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré.

Upon his return and being briefed about the new development in the MKP’s parliamentary caucus, Zuma suspended Hlophe and reinstated Makhubele. 

However, in the latest developments, MKP’s national spokesperson Sipho Tyira told the media on Friday that Van Rooyen has been appointed as acting parliamentary leader while Hlophe remains an active MP and MKP member.

“A legal team has been appointed to preside over those processes, and upon arriving at a conclusion, that legal team will present a detailed report to His Excellency, the President, and the national officials.

“It is important to state that Dr Hlophe remains a member of Parliament and a committed member of the MKP.

“As a result of these deliberations, the president has approved the appointment of Comrade Des van Rooyen as acting party leader effectively and immediately in Parliament to ensure continuity and effective leadership,” said Tyira. 

He said Makhubele would continue as the party’s chief whip.

KwaZulu-Natal political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu said the MKP took a wise move by appointing a legal team to lead an investigation into Hlophe’s conduct, which would give him fair hearings.

He said the party followed the route of the Patriotic Alliance, which used a legal team to investigate its deputy president, Kenny Kunene, after he was found in a house of controversial businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe. 

“I think the MKP is trying not to take a unilateral decision, which will appear as if they are purging Hlophe, instead of allowing him to be judged by an independent panel if he was indeed wrong,” said Ndlovu.

However, Ndlovu also felt that the MKP had taken the matter too far by suspending and subjecting Hlophe to an inquiry. 

“I think they were supposed to discuss this matter with him, and I don’t think there was a need to suspend him. The fact that they have gone this far does not look good for Hlophe remaining with the MKP,” said Ndlovu. 

He also warned that the MKP owed Hlophe because he was impeached as a judge for defending Zuma.

“Zuma knows that he owes Hlophe a lot and, therefore, they cannot just kick him out, leaving him without an income because he lost his benefits as a judge. 

“If you kick him out, there are many people sympathetic to Hlophe who are not going to be happy if he is just thrown out and left with no income. At least as an MP, he still has an income,” said Ndlovu.  

bongani.hans@inl.co.za