Suspended leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the Eastern Cape, Themba Wele, has snubbed a disciplinary hearing into his conduct.
His hearing was in Johannesburg yesterday, but he said he was not going because the EFF leadership knew his suspension was being challenged in court.
Wele was suspended after the EFF accused him of:
- Convening and/or addressing an unauthorised press briefing in King William’s Town last year to announce a new leadership structure, defying the already existing structure created by the central command team deployees;
- Failing and/or refusing to carry out officially mandated duties and/or deployments;
- Personally employing his personal assistant without authority; and
- Failing to provide the secretary-general of the organisation with a medical aid affidavit in the organisation’s litigation case.
Wele’s challenge against his suspension is due to go before the Bhisho High Court on May 19.
Earlier this month, Wele was slapped with a suspension letter.
Wele said his only sin was to question what he alleged was ongoing mismanagement of funds allocated to EFF by the Bhisho Legislature.
“I will keep on asking for this money and I understand that some of it was spent outside this province. That needs to be investigated.”
Wele said of the R321478.30 they received from the legislature, R313439.58 had been used to buy furniture, promotional T-shirts and catering, among other things.
“The people who took this money say R138681.60 was used to buy furniture for the Eastern Cape EFF office. Which office? There is no new furniture there. These people even used caucus money to pay salaries, for what?”
EFF’s secretary-general Godrich Gardee and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi could not be reached for comment yesterday. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za