ANC asks murder-accused Mandla Msibi to ‘step aside voluntarily’

Just merely two days after he was elected ANC Mpumalanga treasurer, murder-accused Mandla Msibi has been asked to step aside from his position.

In a letter to Msibi, ANC treasurer and acting secretary-general Paul Mashatile reminded the former Mpumalanga MEC for agriculture of the step aside resolution.

The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC), in March last year, resolved to implement the party’s 2017 Nasrec conference resolution.

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The resolution states that all members facing criminal charges before a court of law must step aside from their positions and present themselves to the ANC’s integrity commission.

Should they fail to do so, the members may be suspended in terms of Rule 25.70 of the ANC’s Constitution.

‘Step aside voluntarily’

While he was “released” from his position in the ANC’s provincial executive committee (PEC) by Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane following his arrest, Msibi has been asked to voluntarily step aside this time.

“Kindly confirm that your decision to step aside voluntarily on the terms and conditions outlined above remains in force,” Mashatile said in the letter.

Msibi has already indicated that if he fails to argue his case before the ANC’s new leaders in Mpumalanga, he would gladly step aside.

He said on Saturday that he would seek a meeting with the ANC’s newly elected leaders in Mpumalanga, to present them with a recently acquired docket, that he claims clears him of the murder charges.

“You step aside when you are charged. According to my layman’s knowledge, I’m not charged here. When I engage with my legal team they share similar sentiments,” he said in an interview with eNCA.

Murder charges

Msibi was nominated and elected for the treasurer position in absentia at the ANC’s Mpumalanga 13th elective conference in eMalahleni this weekend.

This is depsite Msibi’s pending murder case.

He was charged by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The charges stem from a shooting incident in Mbombela last year, in which two ANC members were shot and killed and another party member was wounded.

Msibi is currently out on R20,000 bail and denies the charges against him.