By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Premier Sihle Zikalala has opened a case against former Ukhozifm presenter Ngizwe Mchunu for assault and crimen injuria following incident during Ingoma kaZwelonke (a traditional dance festival) competition held at Moses Mabhida Stadium yesterday.
According to a statement issued by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, there has been a series of recent episodes during which Mchunu hurled verbal abuse and invectives at the Premier without justification or provocation.
It is reported that Mchunu who appeared to be drunk and was causing trouble, wanted to greet Zikalala while he was sitting in one of the VVIP marquees where Zulu King, Misuzulu KaZwelithini, was hosted. As a result, people nearby had to intervene. With the aid of security personnel the premier had to leave the event.
“It was a dramatic scene in full view of everyone in the marquee. People turned their attention to the incident because it was full of drama, said the source.”
Mchunu is known for publicly insulting Zikalala and the last insult was hurled at Zikalala during the Jacob Zuma solidarity prayer at Nkandla on Thursday.While on stage during the prayer, Mchunu indirectly implied that Zikalala would not be re-elected as the chairperson of the ANC in the province.
There is also a trending video of Mchunu where he is seen hurling insults at Zikalala while watching him on TV. In the trending TikTok video, Mchunu calls Zikalala a dog.
“As a public servant and private individual, the premier reserves all rights applicable to him in terms of our Constitution. In this regard the Premier stands ready and is duty bound to exhaust all legal avenues to protect himself and the dignity of the office he occupies from unscrupulous and unwarranted attacks by individuals such as Mchunu, read the statement.”
Premier Sihle Zikalala @sziks opens a case against Ngizwe Mchunu for assault and crimen injuria following incident during Ingoma kaZwelonke competition. pic.twitter.com/ZDkbjra1G2
— KZN Provincial Gov (@kzngov) June 5, 2022
Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance (DA) has expressed dissatisfaction with the absence of Zikalala, his Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane from last weeks’ Legislature Sitting. This after they decided to attend a Solidarity Prayer Day for Zuma in Nkandla.
In a statement Francois Rodgers, MPL – Leader of the DA in the KZN Legislature said the Premier and his Health MEC, as cabinet members, chose to attend an event in support of keeping the disgraced former President out of jail is damning proof that ANC party politics come before their duties to the people of KZN.
“The Sitting included an important debate on KZN’s health committee report on the state of psychiatric institutions in the province. It also included Oral Questions to the Premier – a critical oversight mechanism for opposition parties – which is seldom part of the programme.”
“Ongoing ANC internal factionalism has already caused great suffering for our province’s citizens. KZN is yet to bounce back economically from the devastating looting and riots of July 2021. This while many are still experiencing trauma as a result of the horrific events that took place,” read the statement.
The Premier has shown – once again – that he does not care about the future of our province or its people, said Rodgers.