Durban - As the ANC eThekwini chairperson, Zandile Gumede, returns to the Durban High Court today(Monday), her backers have insisted that she remains politically strong, saying this was demonstrated by the warm reception she received.
One key indicator of Gumede’s strength was her unanimous election to the position of chairperson at the ANC regional conference last year and instances of people who come to seek political advice from her.
One of the former mayor’s staunch supporters, eThekwini councillor Ntando Khuzwayo, told The Mercury that they were eagerly awaiting the State to present evidence of fraud and corruption against Gumede, in order to prove that this was nothing but a plot aimed at discrediting her.
He noted how over the past years the case had been characterised by delays and postponements in a similar fashion to that of former president Jacob Zuma.
“It has been almost five years of us waiting to hear what the State has against her, so that the chairperson’s legal team can show what a farce the charge against her is,” said Khuzwayo.
Khuzwayo expressed delight that Gumede had managed to stay strong, despite what he labelled as “political obstacles” that had been put before her. He stressed that this was one of the reasons the region had been calling for the scrapping of the ANC step-aside rule which, he added, had been used to damage Gumede’s political reputation.
“When one looks at this case and the time at which our chairperson has been charged without any sense of progress from the State, we are truly convinced that this is a classic plot meant to derail her from what she has been elected to do,” said Khuzwayo, adding that they would remain behind her because they believed in her innocence and commitment to serve the people.
ANC eThekwini region spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize lamented how far Gumede would have gone politically if the State had proceeded and concluded its case against her.
“The chairperson had been lobbied to stand for the position of ANC KZN treasurer at the provincial conference last year, and we are of the opinion that she would have won had she stood for the election, but out of respect for the ANC’s step-aside rule, she declined and here we are,” said Mkhize.
He added that the length of the case had severely dented Gumede’s political image and “robbed the public” of the services that she could have provided as she was a committed public servant.
Gumede and her co-accused, who include former Durban city manager Sipho Nzuza, former exco member Mondli Mthembu, Robert Abbu, who was Durban Solid Waste’s (DSW’s) deputy head, and Sandile Ngcobo, the former deputy head of supply chain management, face several charges, including conspiracy to commit corruption, corruption, fraud, money laundering, racketeering, the contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the contravention of the Municipal Systems Act.
The State alleges that eThekwini officials, including the former city manager and ex-mayor, circumvented the supply chain management processes on a DSW tender for the benefit of identified service providers.
The case has in the past attracted a lot of media attention and also been used to mobilise public support by the ruling party in the region, with her backers often using the public platform to protest her innocence and to underline their support for the former eThekwini mayor.