Publications
Partners
The EFF member who stood up to the leadership’s attempt to bully her into signing a letter ceding her place on the party’s parliamentary list to the leadership’s preferred choice has been permanently axed from the party following her unsuccessful appeal.
Lungile Gabuza, who was a member of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial command team, was informed of her failed appeal on Wednesday following her expulsion from the party for refusing to follow instructions.
City Press reported on the initial expulsion that occurred on October 11 after what Gabuza described as a “predetermined” disciplinary hearing.
READ: How the EFF bullied a KZN member
The expulsion letter, seen by City Press, confirmed that Gabuza was no longer a member of the party.
“The aforementioned entails that the findings of the national disciplinary committee of appeal and ratification of the central command team to expel you is upheld, with the same sanction/sentence of immediate expulsion from the EFF remaining effective. You are therefore hereby informed of the immediate termination of your membership of the EFF,” reads the letter from EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee.
The expulsion letter coincided with the parliamentary swearing in of Omphile Maotwe on Wednesday, who is believed to be the party hierarchy favourite.
Maotwe was sworn in with Luvuyo Tafeni as the two new MPs representing the red berets in the National Assembly.
Speaking to City Press, Gabuza questioned the timing of Maotwe’s ordination.
“It’s strange that even before I received the response Maotwe had been sworn in,” Gabuza said.
She added that EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu had promised that the central command team would revert back to her.
“We told Floyd that the way in which the hearing was done was unfair. He said he would apply his mind and send a response in 24 hours”
For Gabuza, the hearing was a facade, after she allegedly heard Gardee confirming that the appeal would not succeed.
“Yesterday Gardee answered a call from [EFF leader Julius] Malema saying: ‘We will send her a dismissal letter at 2pm tomorrow. She didn’t bring a lawyer, she just came with her representative,’” said Gabuza
Previously, Gabuza told City Press that the reason for appealing the matter was because she was not given an opportunity to prove her case fairly.
“The way the hearing was conducted, you could see that whether Gabuza abided by the organisation’s rules or not the outcome would have been the same,” she said.
