Former Mathews Phosa MEC says ANC as destructive as AK-47 rifle in wrong hands

'Liberation movement has turned against us'

- By Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

A veteran anti-apartheid operative has compared the ANC to an AK-47 in the hands of criminals, saying the liberation movement has become a danger to the very people it once sought to free.

Jacques Modipane, Mpumalanga’s first finance MEC under premier Mathews Phosa, broke his silence after last week’s arrests linked to the 2022 murder of musician DJ Sumbody. Police said one suspect was linked to a weapon believed to be an AK-47, used in political killings, taxi wars and celebrity hits.

Modipane said the AK-47 is symbolic of how something noble can become dangerous when held by the wrong people.

“The ANC is a weapon. It was initially forged to liberate our people from racial oppression. It was a good weapon in the hands of our people, just like an AK-47 in the hands of liberation armies,” he said.