By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Dr Mbuyiseni Quinton Ndlozi has resigned as a member of parliament after serving 10 years in the National Assembly (NA).
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has announced it received voluntary resignations from Ndlozi and Yazini Tetyana to step down from their roles in the NA.
“The EFF has received the voluntary resignation of Fighter Yazini Tetyana and Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi as representatives of the EFF in the Parliament of South Africa,” the party’s statement read.
“The EFF has accepted the respective voluntary requests to be released from deployment of the two fighters, who have diligently served the organisation in their respective deployments.”
Tetyana served in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature and, subsequently, parliament, while Ndlozi had served in the National Assembly since 2014, the party said.
The news follows weeks of speculation regarding Ndlozi’s standing within the EFF, particularly his strained relationship with the party leader, Julius Malema.
Ndlozi was absent throughout the EFF’s conference held at the Nasrec Expo Centre last year – with the party denying claims he had been barred from attending.
He was also not re-elected to the EFF’s Central Command Team – the party’s highest decision-making body in between conferences.
The resignation of Ndlozi from Parliament signals not just a shift within the EFF but also poses questions about the future direction of political movements in the country.