ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe says his comrade ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula was carried away by the media following his Nkandla gate scandal swimming fire pool utterances.
He also labelled the newly formed MK party by former president Jacob Zuma as a rebel movement and said what was important was that it was not an armed rebellion.
Mantashe urged ANC members to be patient with Mbalula who continuously make reckless statements that at times are seen as their own goals by opposition parties.
“I thought he was carried away by yourself guys, he saw your cameras he got taken away and he said things he should not have said, when you lead you count every word you say,” Mantashe said.
He also reiterated Mbalula’s stance on the issue of Zuma's expulsion, that there was no need to take action against Zuma as he had already walked away on his own.
“There is no need to expel Zuma, he has walked away. There is nothing you can do with someone who has walked away,” said Mantashe.
Mbalula said Zuma is defective following his constant disparagement of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his administration.
Mbalula who bullet-proofed Ramaphosa after Zuma censured him on Phalaphala farm said Zuma has subjected himself to amnesia after the ANC protected him during his R246 million taxpayers' money Nkandla gate scandal.
Mbalula said this during his visit in Mpumalanga as the ANC prepares itself to celebrate its 112 years during the much-anticipated January 8 Statement, which is scheduled for Saturday at Mbombela Stadium.
He revealed how the ANC justified Zuma’s controversial R3.9m pool as a security feature, during his speech in Barberton at Mpumalanga.
“We defended former president Zuma, even going to Parliament and saying that a swimming pool is a fire pool,” he said in a clip doing the rounds in the media.
“The Constitutional Court, chaired by Mogoeng Mogoeng, issued a judgment against Jacob Zuma, but the ANC stood by him. Zuma now says he can’t stand President Ramaphosa.”
Mbalula's remarks on Sunday landed him in hot water as he received a lot of criticism from various stake holders including opposition parties.
Zuma took his fight to privately prosecute his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
However the High Court in Johannesburg reviewed and set aside the private prosecution.
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