An African Congress for Transformation (ACT) senior official has rubbished claims that party member David Mkhabela was Ace Magashule’s son-in-law.
The senior member, whose name is known to The Star and declined to be named, said on Sunday that those who were pushing this narrative had a nefarious motive against Magashule.
“All these things are being said because they are afraid of Magashule. They failed to destroy him while he was their ‘comrade’ now they are trying to paint him as some kind of a dictator.
“All those who are alleging that Mkhabela is Magashule’s son-in-law must produce or come up with scientific evidence, otherwise they must shut up,” the ACT senior member said.
Mkhabela’s family member, who also did not want to be named, confirmed that David Mkhabela was not Magashule’s son-in-law.
“This allegation is laughable, my brother is not related to Magashule as people would like to make it seem. David and Magashule’s relationship is that of a leader and party member,” the family said.
Last week, the SABC reported that some members of the organisation were up in arms following the deployment of Magashule’s son-in-law at the Free State legislature.
This was as Mkhabela was sworn in as a member of the Provincial Legislature.
On the allegations of Mkhabela been taken from Pretoria to represent ACT in Free State, the family member said that was baffling as David grew up in Welkom, Free State, and later moved to Bloemfontein.
“People must stop believing everything that bitter people are spewing. David is from Welkom, and later in his life he moved to Bloemfontein.
“Because as an individual we grow and want better things, he ended up going to Pretoria in search of better opportunities but his house remained in Free State, Bloemfontein, to be specific. The guy even voted in Bloemfontein during special votes in Brebner High School,” explained the family member.
An ACT member, Tumelo Monare, from Welkom, told The Star that he was recruited by Mkhabela to join the organisation and that he joined it because he knew him from long time ago.
Monare said he was surprised when he saw the news on social media that Mkhabela was not from Free State but Gauteng.
“I’ve always heard people say that politics is dirty, but I’ve never thought as well that people whom he (Mkhabela) grew up with would also peddle this rumour. I can confirm it to you that bro (slang name for brother) David is from here in Welkom,” he added.
He further urged the organisation to deal with the matter quickly as they were some people in the organisation who were starting to believe the lies circulating on social media.
When the publication contacted the party’s spokesperson, Mohau Khumalo, he said the party would not engage its internal affairs with the media.
“Please note that our internal processes and matter are not discussed with any media outlets,” Khumalo concluded.
The Star