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I haven't been expelled: Godi

Johannesburg - APC president and chairperson of Parliament's standing committee on public accounts Themba Godi has denied he has been expelled from the party, calling it a "gimmick" used by disgruntled deputy president Hlabirwa Mathume who himself has been removed.

"The fact of the matter is I'm not expelled," Godi told News24 on Friday.

"Mr Mathume is a just a man with a laptop and a man with a laptop can send out papers to anybody without any requirement for him to validate what he's saying.

"This gimmick that I am expelled is not going to last. So it's clear that [reports of my] expulsion is meant to create hype and confusion."

However, Mathume, who now calls himself the African People's Convention acting president, is adamant that Godi has been expelled.

‘Party is highly divided’

"He is playing games. Because what I can confirm is that there are serious ructions and divisions in the APC," Mathume told News24.

"The party is highly divided into two. After we have raised our issues with Themba Godi, number one bringing the party into disrepute and financial misconduct he quickly rushed to a group of friends and convened what he called a party meeting and expelled us."

He said a group within the party were upset that Godi, who is the party's only MP and chairperson of the standing committee on public accounts, about his behaviour in Parliament.

They accused him of always supporting the ANC vote in Parliament, supporting the Nkandla ad-hoc committee report without a mandate from the party and supporting the increase in President Jacob Zuma's salary.

He also accused Godi of mismanaging the APC's funds, claiming that R1.1m was mismanaged during last year's elections.

"That was the beginning of our ructions, that was the beginning of our fight. The pressure is increasing [and he is using] his bully tactic of saying he has expelled us."

Appeal

The African People's Convention has been divided into two factions.

Mathume said the APC has written to Parliament informing them of Godi's removal as the party's MP and were replacing him.

He said Godi could appeal his expulsion at the party's national elective congress in December.

Parliament could not immediately confirm whether it had received the letter and whether it was accepting Godi's removal.

Godi told News24 that it was Mathume who has actually been expelled from the party.

This was confirmed to News24 by the APC's secretary general Paseka Moshwadiba.

"The allegations Mathume made over the media that he has expelled the APC president comrade Themba Godi, whilst he is actually the one expelled have no basis, are vague and unfounded.

"Themba Godi remains the leader of the APC and continues to normally perform his duties as expected of him," he said.

Mathuma was just a "frustrated power monger who wants to wrongly use the media to fight his lost political battles", said Moshwadiba.

Mathume, however, says Moshwadiba is in Godi's faction and would support him.

He claimed that Godi, Moshwadiba and the APC's treasurer were the people who had been mismanaging the party's funds.

Mathume confirmed that Godi's faction had expelled him and other APC leaders.

A new party formed

Godi said, Mathume and six other APC councillors were called to a meeting on March 28 where they were told they were  being charged for not paying their monthly contributions to the party.

"We charged them for not contributing their monthly dues to the APC as agreed... and they are not doing anything to build the APC.

"We also got wind that he [Mathume] has formed a political party, the African People's Socialist Party and registered with the IEC in February 2015."

He said that although Mathume's name did not appear on the party's contact details the fax number he used when he was APC secretary general was used for the new party.

Godi said he heard that Mathume had been holding meetings and distributing membership forms for the new party.

Mathume and the six councillors were meant to appear before the APC's disciplinary committee on May 23 and 24.

"Then on the 22nd he came to the office with a lawyer with court papers from the South Gauteng High Court where he was challenging our right to discipline him," Godi said.

In terms of the court papers the APC was supposed to file an answering affidavit on June 29, which it did.

"But because the application was not on an urgent basis and they did not interdict the disciplinary hearing we went ahead with the disciplinary hearing.

"Then on June 13 we had a meeting of our central executive committee meeting because in terms of our constitution if a person is expelled from the party, it's only the central executive committee which can make that decision," he said.

Mathume was invited to the meeting but did not attend.

"The CEC took the decision that it is expelling him from the APC on the June 13. On the same day we wrote him a letter informing him of the position of the central executive committee."

The party sent a letter to its members on June 15 informing them Mathume had been expelled.

"A week later we wrote him a letter informing him that we are going to recall him as a councillor in Ekurhuleni since we have expelled him."

Godi said the APC received confirmation on Thursday that the Ekurhuleni municipal manager had signed off on its letter that Mathume be removed because he was no longer an APC member.

Mathume said he had received the letters, but that this was now a matter for the court to sort out.

He also accused Godi of wanting to remove him and other councillors so that he could replace them with some of his family members.

But Godi is convinced that the party is behind the current leadership, with him at the helm.

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