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Replaced EFF MPs vow to fight to the bitter end

fighting back: Expelled Economic Freedom Fighters MP Andile Mngxitama
fighting back: Expelled Economic Freedom Fighters MP Andile Mngxitama

Economic Freedom Fighters renegade MPs fired after questioning Julius Malema's leadership have vowed to continue fighting their expulsion in court after the party replaced them yesterday.

The party's central command team member and KwaZulu-Natal businessman Marshall Dlamini and Mmabatho Makause will now enjoy the benefits that come with being a party representative in the National Assembly.

"It's not the end until the fat lady sings. We will still put it in normal court roll or revisit our papers of the initial application in the high court. If the court rules in our favour, the central committee will be dissolved and its decisions will be reversed," said expelled EFF MP Mpho Ramakatsa.

EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the new MPs have all the capabilities for their new roles. A third candidate he did not want to identify would be sworn in at a later stage.

Ndlozi said the names were next in line out of the 200 names submitted to parliament ahead of elections. "It's not like we had to make a new list," he said.

Sowetan understands that the third candidate to be redeployed to the National Assembly is Free State provincial leader Mandisa Makesi.

The three are said to be close to Malema. Makause and Makesi were with Malema in the ANC Youth League while Dlamini is said to have been one of the go-to guys whenever EFF had financial needs.

This temporarily closes the door for outspoken MPs including Andile Mngxitama, Ramakatsa and Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala, who have accused Malema and his deputy Floyd Shivambu of embezzling party funds and corruption.

The three former MPs had vowed to fight in court to keep their seats.

They were denied an interdict to stop today's proceedings by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, which on Monday found that the matter was not urgent. Judge Eben Jordaan even described the application as a complete abuse of process.

But yesterday Ramakatsa said he and the other disgruntled members would meet their lawyers as the intention was to return to court. They already have a pending matter in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, wherein they want an order declaring the party's inaugural elective conference null and void.

It was in that conference that they were left out of the new leadership structure, which exposed divisions in the EFF. Ramakatsa and Mngxitama were among the EFF leaders who fell out of favour with Malema at that conference.

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