The Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, Masizole Mnkasela, has slammed the upcoming vote of no confidence against him.
- Speaker of the Western Cape Legislative Assembly, Masizole Mnkasela, says the vote of no confidence passed against him was a witch hunt.
- Prosecutors filed a no-confidence motion filed Friday morning amid allegations of fraud.
- The party’s Federal Legal Commission has brought Mnkasela to a disciplinary hearing with the leadership of the prosecutor’s office over allegations of extravagant spending.
The Speaker of the Western Cape Legislative Assembly, Masizole Mnkasela, has spoken out after a vote of no confidence in him looms.
Mnkasela remained adamant: “he loves his party and his blood remains royal blue” despite prosecutors accusing him of misconduct and barring him from all party activities.
He briefed the media on Sunday, just a day after a vote of no confidence was tabled on Friday morning amid allegations of fraud.
“I think it was important to talk about it and what it means to me and to the legislature. I’m a politician, so I’m not naive, and I continued to dismiss the allegations as baseless and malicious, and it was a political witch hunt.”
Mnqasela added that the right processes must be followed.
“I participated in the disciplinary hearing of the Federal Law Commission [FLC], and when I was told when I was in the hearing that the movement that seeks to remove the speaker. It’s pretty amazing to me; The parliament itself did not consider a single complaint,” he said.
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Mnqasela was locked out of the FLC’s disciplinary hearing with the party’s top leadership over allegations of extravagant spending.
“I have been found not guilty of anything and I refuse to sit back and allow the witch hunt against me to continue. Further details will be announced soon.”
Mnkasela stressed that the process has harmed his family.
“It tarnished my name and caused emotional distress to my family.”
The prosecutor’s office unanimously decided to pass a vote of no confidence in him to deprive him of his position in the legislature.
In May, whistleblowers handed Prime Minister Alan Winde a trove of evidence revealing Mnkasela’s travel and entertainment claims and apparent lavish spending on official government business.
Mnkasela has denied the allegations and, after being accused of misconduct, said the allegations against him were influenced by a political agenda.
Meanwhile, the legislative assembly’s programming committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the motion of no confidence in the speaker.
The last meeting of the year will be held on Thursday next week.
