By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Caption: Julius Malema and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi in happier times.
Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi has officially resigned from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and announced his departure from party politics.
Ndlozi announced during an interview with the SABC that he wanted to provide the public with closure on the matter. Ndlozi said he stood by his decision to withhold the information from party leader Julius Malema, saying it was simply not his place to inform him of Floyd Shivambu’s departure.
“The idea that I should have run behind his (Shivambu’s) back to inform other people or the leadership suggests that I am an informant, a gossiper or a wedge driver, I am none of those. It was Floyd’s decision, he had to communicate it, and he did,” he said.
Ndlozi’s woes in the party began six weeks before it was due to have its elective conference in December. Due to his popularity and strong appeal within the party, especially among the youth, it was almost certain that he would secure a spot in the top five.
However, the party’s then leadership decided to charge him and bar him from participating altogether.
Reflecting on the suspension, Ndlozi said it was “unconventional” as it didn’t rely on the EFF’s code of conduct.
At the time of being charged, the leadership informed him that they had an intelligence report suggesting he was involved in an infiltration strategy by the MK party. The party alleged that he had been working with former president Jacob Zuma’s party and intended to join them, which Ndlozi denied.
“Of course I was told to stay at home, cease my participation in Parliament and the rest of the activities of the EFF, and so it was important for me they said that the investigation was still ongoing, and that when it was finished I then would be given an opportunity to respond to these at a later stage.”
Ndlozi said although the allegations against him were “dangerous and very serious” he held on to the hope that he would be exonerated by the party’s report, and that he would at a later stage be given an opportunity to state his case.
To date, this had not happened, despite him reaching out to the leadership on several occasions.
“The attitude of the collective leadership is very clear, I don’t think there is any interest, and personally I have let it go.”
With a strong academic background, Ndlozi has since expressed a desire to contribute to civil society and academia, leveraging his education after completing his PhD in Political Sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2017.
“I have taken a decision to step away from party politics,” he said. “I have left the EFF. I have left party politics. I have handed in my resignation as a member, and it is because where I want to go and contribute, I can’t hold a single party membership.”
The EFF has not issued a formal response to his resignation, but party spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said his public pronouncements constituted a resignation and that the party wished him well.
Ndlozi was a founding member of the party and previously served as its national spokesperson and an Member of Parliament.