Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - Anti-Apartheid veteran Carl Niehaus’s breakaway from the ANC seems to have resulted in staunch supporters of former president Jacob Zuma jumping on the “CR22” bandwagon for their own survival.
Niehaus, who spent more than 40 years supporting the ANC, announced this past weekend that he was resigning from the party and forming his own “civil society political movement”.
His detractors accused him of forming a new political party to destabilise President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership. Niehaus has not denied planning to destabilise Ramaphosa, but has clarified that his was not a political party, but a political movement.
“I also want comrades and friends to understand very clearly that as long as the ‘ANC’ remains the neo-liberal sell-out thing and antithesis of the true ANC that I joined, I will not return to this so-called ‘ANC’. Here I stand, I will not move,” he said.
One of the political actors who has thrown his full support behind the Ramaphosa camp is Struggle song hitmaker Gamelihle Mbuyane, who is happy that he will be performing for the re-elected incumbent this weekend in Mangaung, Free State.
Yesterday, an elated Mbuyane spoke to the Pretoria News, stating the reasons that led to him deciding to support the ANC president.
“I am well known as a Jacob Zuma-aligned person who has been making ANC events come alive for many years, even making comrades at ground level proud to be ANC members because of the songs I make.
“I have only graced one President Ramaphosa event because of my association with a faction. However, right now I have come to realise that if I continue that way, our movement will collapse for good,” said Mbuyane.
The independent artist, who is known for his hit songs, Solomon, Asiwafuni amagwala, and Unity, said he was not ashamed to speak freely about his love for the ANC.
“It all started with not liking President Ramaphosa because we disagree on key issues. However, people have now created breakaway movements from the ANC itself, and we cannot allow that. The comrades are playing with our feelings.
“This is our ANC and it is bigger than any sitting president. There is no way that we will allow the ANC to die because we disagree with a leader.
“He is our leader and has been voted overwhelmingly. As disciplined members of the party, we must do the right thing,” he said.
Asked what the right thing was, Mbuyane said the time for “conscience” politics had come to an end.
“It’s either you stick with your conscience or you follow the party line. I have decided to follow the party line and support the president because if we don’t, the ANC will lose elections and the white monopoly system will take over.
“That is what they want. They want the ANC to tear itself apart over one leader instead of uniting to defeat the common enemy. Once the ANC is out of power, our people will be poor forever.
“We have experienced oppression under the white monopoly system. That is why we can never allow it to have a chance to return in the form of a coalition government. That is why ANC members should never allow the movement to be defeated,” Mbuyane said.
The artist said he would be performing a new hit single at the 111th birthday celebration of the party this weekend.
“This is a song aimed at uniting all the factions within the ANC. It is titled Uyababiza uTambo (Tambo is calling them). I believe after this celebration we will be united,” said Mbuyane.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe had not responded to media questions regarding the weekend performance by the time of publication.
Pretoria News