By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
ActionSA has announced former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member of Parliament Thembinkosi Rawula as its newest member in the Eastern Cape.
The party briefed the media in Gqeberha on Monday in what seemed to be a move to bolster its election campaign in the province ahead of next year’s election.
In 2019 Rawula accused Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu of using millions of party money to fund their lifestyles.
The allegations were made in a social media post, resulting in Malema suing Rawula for R1 million.
He later won the defamation court case instituted against him by Malema, which he later appealed and the appeal was dismissed.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in South Africa dismissed an appeal from Malema. The SCA upheld Rawula’s defense of truth and public interest, marking a significant victory for the former MP and a blow to Malema’s reputation.
The SCA criticized Malema for not taking legal action against various media outlets that had implicated him in their VBS reports. This criticism, coupled with the dismissal of Malema’s appeal, gives credence to Rawula’s allegations.
Rawula resigned from the EFF to join Numsa’s Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP).
Eastern Cape Chairperson, Athol Trollip, says Rawula has changed his mind and his political views.
“Rawula has demonstrated in the past that in a country where corruption is on the rise and the rule of law is evidently undermined, we should always stand for what is ethically correct, especially in the presence of potentially compromised individuals.”
“Far too often, many South Africans lack the courage to stand up against corruption and other questionable practices out of fear of losing their livelihood and even their lives.” he said
Addressing the media, Rawula says those claiming to fight corruption are found to be looting state resources.
“Joining ActionSA is not a matter of ideology, it is issues that we are confronted with, part of the reason in South Africa is that the fiscus is unable to carry all of us, because it attracts leaders that become looters of the same fiscus.”
“The very same people that tell us they are fighting corruption they are the same people that are implicated in the looting of state resources, that cannot be an ideological issue, it is an animal that is not wanted in South Africa,” he added.