African National Congress (ANC) Nelson Mandela Bay councillor Andile Lungisa has slammed ANC veteran Charles Nqakula for his apparent jibe at Secretary-General Ace Magashule.
Writing on Twitter on Thursday, Lungisa suggested that Nqakula was “singing for his dinner.”
DispatchLIVE reported that on Tuesday, Nqakula said not just anyone could become Secretary-General of the ANC.
‘Tortoise or tokoloshe can’t be ANC SG’
He reportedly said, “You can’t take just anyone to be the Secretary-General of the ANC because a Secretary-General is the custodian of the political programme of the ANC.
“You can’t just take a tortoise or a tokoloshe to be the Secretary-General. You can’t lie and say a tokoloshe is a giant.”
The ANC veteran reportedly expressed puzzlement that he “sometimes understood some political issues more than an ANC Secretary-General.”
Nqakula was delivering the Malcomess Mgabela Memorial Lecture in East London when he made the remarks. He didn’t mention Ace Magashule by name.
#HandsOffAce
In his tweet, Lungisa appeared to take offence at Nqakula’s comments, dismissing him as a “charlatan.”
He wrote, “This charlatan always ingratiates with whoever is in power to better sing for his dinner. He’s been ‘loyal’ to Mandela, Mbeki, Zuma and now Cyril. Sing for your meal without dividing the ANC. #HandsOffAce.”
Lungisa often expresses his strong support for Magashule and former President Jacob Zuma.
He went against the prevailing political preference in the Eastern Cape to support Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s bid for ANC presidency in 2017.
Magashule has not yet publicly reacted to Nqakula’s comments. In June 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Nqakula as his security advisor.
Nqakula is also a former minister, ambassador, and General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP).