Mkhwebane threatened with 'suspension' over MKP laptop fight

Mkhatshwa says party secretary fabricated her power

- By Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

MK Party leaders in Mpumalanga are in a squabble over a party laptop, with one suspended leader trying to suspend his nemesis in a confrontation similar to the bitter Magashule-Ramaphosa standoff in the ANC in 2021.

On October 18, provincial chairperson Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane issued a formal instruction to suspended secretary Abednego Mkhatshwa to hand back the party’s laptop and other equipment allocated to him before his suspension.

“The uMkhonto weSizwe Party, Mpumalanga province, requests the return of organisational tools of trade that were allocated to you to do the work of the organisation in your previous roles,” Mkhwebane wrote.

“We request the return of the laptop so that those with new responsibilities can perform their duties with ease.”

The letter, copied to provincial treasurer Johan Mkhatshwa, makes it clear that the treasurer's office would collect the equipment. Within 30 days, the response arrived, and the saga detonated.

In a strongly worded rebuttal dated November 18, the secretary rejected the demand outright and accused Mkhwebane of fabricating authority she does not hold.