Carl Niehaus to appeal dismissal from ANC by 'kangaroo court'

Carl Niehaus says he will appeal his expulsion from the ANC.

On Monday, the ANC national disciplinary committee (NDC) issued an expulsion letter to Niehaus which was widely circulated on social media.

Niehaus blasted this, saying he had not received the letter prior to it being circulated on social media.

Niehaus posted a video on his YouTube page, announcing that he would appeal the NDC's decision which he labelled a "kangaroo court".

Niehaus was found guilty on six counts of misconduct for contravening rule 25 of the ANC's constitution.

"I will immediately appeal this ridiculous vindictive sentence of expelling me from the ANC. This is not the ANC I know. This is not the African National Congress I joined at age of 19 years in Botswana for which I dedicated my whole life, this is not the ANC I sacrificed my youth and for which I served 10 years in Pretoria Maximum Prison for high treason…

"For which I was arrested, detained in solitary confinement for a long time ... for which I lost most of my hearing," Niehaus said.

Niehaus said he had not received the letter personally but that it was sent out by the "kangaroo court" that calls itself the NDC.

"It is utterly unacceptable that any person personally affected as I am by such a ridiculous decision must hear about this on social media with no decency to first ensure that I’m informed about this vindictive decision.

"During the last year and more, I was subjected to persecution by the NDC of the ANC on the basis of me having said at Nkandla on 4 July 2021 and on several other occasions that I believe, acting on [behalf of] MKMVA and speaking as national spokesperson, that the decision of the ConCourt to have sentenced [Jacob] Zuma without a proper court case was illegal and indicates our judiciary is captured.

"As spokesperson of MKMVA, I was given a mandate to travel to Nkandla. I carried my duties diligently but in the meantime I noted there were several senior members of the ANC, which included national chairperson Gwede Mantashe, comrade Lindiwe Sisulu and even Fikile Mbalula, who had made stronger statements over the years saying our judiciary was acting in a wrong manner yet none were charged," Niehaus said.

Niehaus was charged for utterances he made in July 2021 outside the home of former president Zuma, where he organised a rally and made statements to the media.

ANC disciplinary committee chairperson Ralph Mgijima wrote that it was alleged some of the statements Niehaus made were devoid of any truth, patently false and that Niehaus deliberately put such false information into the public domain to cause confusion and disunity in the ANC. It brought the ANC into disrepute, he said.

"The NDC is of the view that the charges for which the charged member has been found guilty are very serious. As such, the charged member’s plea that he be sanctioned with a reprimand, if found guilty, is wholly inappropriate."

He said Niehaus showed no remorse and persisted with his view that the ANC was acting in violation of its constitution and his rights by disciplining him.

Mgijima added that despite Niehaus's long history within the ANC and having served time in prison for his political beliefs, he, like all other members of the ANC, was bound by the party's code of conduct.

Mathews Phosa, who represented Niehaus during the hearings, recommended a five-year suspension which was rejected.

"The failure of the charged member to show any remorse for his misconduct convinced the NDC that he was not capable of being rehabilitated. The charged member is expelled from the ANC," Mgijima found.

nkosin@sowetan.co.za