Former Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) secretary-general Ackim Mhlanga has accused party president Mqondisi Moyo of exhibiting dictatorial tendencies and personalising properties belonging to the party.
Mhlanga resigned from his position and party citing differences with the party leadership.
In his resignation letter addressed to the MRP National Chairperson Mqondisi Ndebele, Mhlanga said his calls for transparency and accountability in the party were ignored.
“Noting that my call for the above has been largely misplaced and ill-timed as proven by the kind of reaction from party leadership it is my decision to call it a day and stop expecting such gigantic growth steps from the party,” he wrote.
In an interview with CITE, Mhlanga confirmed he had resigned from MRP after concluding that “some battles were not worth fighting” as some individuals did not want to change their ethic.
Mhlanga claimed MRP was now directed by few individuals who acted as if they owned the party.
“My calling for transparency and accountability offended others and this caused fights,” he said.
When pressed on the nature of fights, the former secretary-general, said his differences involved the party president Mqondisi Moyo.
“I disagreed with the president over issues concerning a party congress and accountability over party properties. I used to say party properties must not be registered in an individual but must be in the party’s name,” he said.
“There has been no elective congress since the party was formed. People were appointed on consensus on who can lead. The president is just an interim president and is not an executive president.”
Mhlanga acknowledged these challenges started last year and the president tried to have him expelled.
“The president reported me to the National Executive Council (NEC) and his letter to that effect was rejected by NEC. He then engaged the Advisory Board but failed and I was reinstated by the national chairperson,” he said.
He highlighted that MRP was now divided into two factions, pro-congress and anti-congress members.
“Just that these divisions are not known by the public. My proposals to have a congress were supposed to improve the party’s image to the public as we are seen as a pressure group and no one will believe in us if we don’t hold a congress, but well!” Mhlanga sighed.
He said he was still deciding what steps to take regrading his political future.
Reached for comment, Moyo said he would not exhaust his energy responding to Mhanga’s claims about the alleged disagreements.
“My principle is when I talk to the media I talk about our enemy, I will not use the platform to fight his view. So I will not respond to his claims. What Mhlanga told you was his side of the story, besides he is not the agenda and I will not comment on something useless,” Moyo shot back.
