The uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) has suspended its chief whip, Mmabatho Mokoena-Zondi‘s membership with immediate effect pending corruption investigations.
The party says it has instructed Mmabatho-Zondi to hand over all party documents, records, assets and any other party-related material in her possession with immediate effect.
It says it has appointed Philasande Mkhize as the party’s chief whip with immediate effect.
Mmabatho-Zondi appeared at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court recently and was released on bail of R30 000 and will appear at the Bellville Commercial Court in Cape Town on the 18th of June.
She faces charges of fraud or theft, to the tune of R233 000, for allegedly extorting salaries of the party’s staff members in Parliament.
According to the Hawks, Mokoena-Zondi allegedly recruited four researchers into the party before demanding payments from them under the pretext that the money was needed for legal costs linked to party president Jacob Zuma.
Reacting to the case, political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast says that the party needs to crack the whip on corruption ahead of the local government elections in November.
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