MARCH and March organiser Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has delivered a scathing response to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula after he questioned why she met with MK party leadership separately from other movement leaders.
The meeting took place a few weeks back.
Mbalula posted the picture of the meeting on X and stated: “Jacinta and his (sic) hubby did meet MK leadership alone without Ngizwe and Phakela. So why meeting a head of state without her an issue?”
He raised this after some people blamed Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, also known as ‘Phakel’umthakathi’ and Ngizwe Mchunu met with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the eve of abahambe nationwide march on 30 June.
Ngobese did not hold back, accusing the ANC of manufacturing controversy around March and March’s political engagements while ignoring that the organisation had met with a broad spectrum of political parties and leaders long before the MK question arose.
“I told you guys that the issue here is not March and March but the fear of (former president) Jacob Zuma,” she fired back. “Those who are close to Fikile Mbalula, please can you tell him that we met with his leadership in eThekwini when we had our first March and they refused to be part of the march. Now when March and March has grown to be this big from nothing, suddenly he pulls out a picture of us having met with the MK?”
She challenged the timing of the ANC’s revelations, pointing out that March and March had also met with ActionSA, the IFP, the DA, Afrika Mayibuye, the ATM, Operation Dudula, and the ANC itself, without any controversy.
“So the issue is having met with MK? How many times have we sent our grievances to the ANC and they ignored March and March, and then decided who they want to meet because they don’t have the surname Zuma?” she asked.
Ngobese reminded the ANC that the party had issued a statement welcoming her dismissal when she was fired form Vuma FM, and questioned why the same party was now trying to portray her organisation’s meetings as covert or politically motivated.
“The President of the country is the President, and we only wanted to meet him to address the immigration issue, not because we wanted a photo op with him. So if he chooses to not see us, that’s not a loss to us really!” she said.
She accused the ANC of failed tactics, first labelling March and March as vigilantes, then attempting to introduce tribalism, and now trying to align the organisation with MK to undermine its credibility.
“We organised those marches without the ANC. When we started March and March, it was a joke to many of you! You, Fikile, even went on TV and asked who I am!” she said. “Now after we organised a nationwide protest, you are trying to make it seem as though we were doing things in silence or behind the people’s back? Goodluck with what you are trying to do, bhuti, but please be honest when you are addressing issues!”
