No charges, no step-aside: Mbalula backs Mchunu amid allegations and ongoing probe
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula confirms the ANC step-aside rule does not apply to Senzo Mchunu, as no criminal charges have been laid, allowing him to remain in his party position.
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Despite growing political pressure and public scrutiny, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has not been asked to step aside from his duties within the African National Congress (ANC).
According to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, that’s because the party’s step-aside rule only kicks in once someone has been criminally charged , and Mchunu has not.
“The step-aside rule only applies to people who are criminally charged,” said Mbalula while addressing reporters in Cape Town, where the ANC’s National Working Committee was assessing party structures in the Western Cape on Sunday.
“Senzo will not step aside in relation to the ANC, he’s an elected member and he’s got an opportunity now, in terms of the audi principle, to also state the side of his story.”
Mchunu’s presence at the NWC comes even as he remains on special leave from his government position, a decision taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa following allegations of political interference and gang-related links raised by KZN police commissioner Lt General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
While this development has led to sharp criticism from former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule , who claims double standards are at play , Mbalula has drawn a clear line between allegations and formal charges.
“Let’s allow the process to follow,” Mbalula said. “Once we listen to Mchunu's side, it is evaluated in terms of facts by a competent independent judge and a judicial commission like the president appointed , then we can pass judgement.”
The panel investigating the matter is expected to submit progress reports every three months. Until such time as a charge is laid, Mchunu remains within his rights to operate within ANC structures, even as an acting minister temporarily assumes his government responsibilities, said Mbalula.
Mbalula dismissed ongoing criticism, including legal challenges at the Constitutional Court , as premature and politically opportunistic.
“What the president has done to process the allegations that were made is the correct thing to do by a sitting president in a constitutional democracy. That’s what we as the ANC support,” he said.
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