It was a lie — Mbalula admits ANC tricked Parliament to protect Zuma in Nkandla ‘fire pool’ debacle

Nkosinathi Nhleko released the findings in the Nkandla report on 20 May 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nhleko determined that President Jacob Zuma was not liable to pay a portion of the security upgrades to his Nkandla homestead. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Deon Raath)

By Queenin Masuabi

8 Jan 2024

An angry ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula dropped a bombshell about the party lying in order to support then-president Jacob Zuma when he was under fire for the upgrades done on his Nkandla Homestead in KwaZulu Natal.

The ANC and its top officials once heavily backed their former leader Jacob Zuma for the exorbitant funds spent on upgrades on his Nkandla Home. However, party Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has revealed that the party had misled Parliament to protect the former president.

Speaking on Sunday in Barberton, Mpumalanga, Mbalula conceded the party had misled Parliament to defend its then-president.

“We went to Parliament and opened an ad hoc committee and said a swimming pool is a fire pool. The [then] police minister [Nathi Nhleko] was sweating, seeing that this was a lie, because it is difficult to explain lies. People have lost their careers because of that thing.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: Zuma’s new political party trick and the head-scratching horseplay of Men Saying Things

In 2014, then-Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found that Zuma “unduly benefited” from upgrades to his private Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). In the ‘Secure in Comfort’ report, Madonsela recommended that Zuma pay back at least part of the estimated R246-million spent on the improvements to the property not related to security.

However, senior ANC members continued to back Zuma with Nathi Nhleko using his powers to do so.

Nkosinathi Nhleko wipes his brow as he releases the findings in the Nkandla report on 20 May 2015 in Cape Town. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Deon Raath)

During what became an infamous press briefing in 2015, Nhleko exonerated Zuma of all accountability over the upgrade costs at his Nkandla home.

An Nkandla ad hoc committee which was formed to interrogate Madonsela’s findings adopted Nhleko’s report that Zuma was not liable to pay back public money spent on his Nkandla home.

Nhleko’s report contradicted that of Madonsela.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Analysis: Is Zuma/ANC starting a battle for the soul of SA judiciary?

In 2016, the Constitutional Court found that Zuma failed to uphold the Constitution when he ignored a state order to repay some of the government funds used for upgrading his private residence.

The court also ruled that Parliament, which is dominated by the ruling African National Congress, had failed in its obligations by not holding Zuma to account.

Read more in Daily Maverick: ‘No court in the country interrogated Nkandla report’ – Nhleko

Mbalula reiterated how the party continued to stand by the former president despite this.

“It went to the constitutional court and, while we were voting, Mogoeng Mogoeng [former chief justice] in a damning judgment said [Zuma] was not fit for office. We still defended him but, today, he says he cannot tolerate [President Cyril Ramaphosa], who has not been issued with a damning judgment,” he said.

Mbalula then said the ANC is “disappointed but not surprised” by the former president’s decision to ditch the party in the upcoming elections.

Read more in Daily Maverick: ANC KZN condemns Zuma’s ‘gross ill-discipline’ for support of new party

“The ANC didn’t expel Jacob Zuma. He has expelled himself and his interpretation that he is still a member till he dies and is not leaving is his own interpretation. You want to be happy [on] both sides, it doesn’t work like that.

“We are disappointed but we are not surprised. We didn’t want him to go, we didn’t want him to go to the party. We are shocked but not surprised when a former president of the ANC takes such a decision.”

Mbalula is among the ANC bigwigs who were displeased by Zuma’s decision to ditch the governing party and campaign for the uMkhonto Wesizwe party instead.

In an announcement made in December, Zuma said he would be campaigning for the new MK party for the 2024 elections.

He accused Ramaphosa of being an agent of “white monopoly capital” and being against the progress of black professionals and intellectuals.

He added that he could not “campaign for the ANC of Ramaphosa”.

Mbalula took to X on Monday evening to clarify his comments regarding Zuma’s “fire pool”, saying he was speaking “just in case someone wants to deliberately twist” his words.

“I made general statements about how the ANC ‘defended’ former President JZ when he was accused of corruption and other official misconduct connected with Nkandla.

“First, we must agree that it was the duty of the organisation to fully understand the facts upon which the opposition parties base their corruption accusations and charges that followed before it could act.

“As such, the ANC, as I so eloquently argued, was duty bound to [allow] parliamentary structures to investigate the serious accusations.

“Such a move was precisely to protect the ANC President from being unfairly overrun by the malevolent opposition.

“What is important to expose here is that by affording the President due process of law, which was his right under our constitution, the ANC was protecting its president.

“I fairly reported that the matter was ventilated in the courts, as it was supposed to be, and the chips fell where the Constitutional Court said they should fall.” DM

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