MK Party lodges complaint against Ramaphosa, Steenhuisen over White House visit

JOHANNESBURG - The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has lodged a complaint against President Cyril Ramaphosa and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen

The party is accusing them of misconduct during their visit to the White House earlier this year.

The complaint stems from remarks Steenhuisen made to United States (US) President Donald Trump in the oval office, where he said the Democratic Alliance (DA) joined the Government of National Unity (GNU to prevent both the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the MK Party from entering government.

The MK Party assets that Steenhuisen used the platform to play politics and promote the DA’s agenda, during what was meant to be an official government engagement.

Ramaphosa and his high-level delegation visited the White House to discuss Pretoria’s strained diplomatic tensions with the US.

In a letter to Parliament’s Ethics Committee, the official opposition party said Steenhuisen used the diplomatic platform to play politics and promote the DA’s agenda, during what was meant to be an official government engagement.

Ramaphosa and his delegation of ministers visited the White House to discuss Pretoria’s strained diplomatic tensions with the US four months ago.

Addressing the Trump in the Oval Office after he played video footage of Malema singing “kill the farmer”, Steenhuisen said: “The two individuals that are in that video are both leaders of opposition minorities in South Africa. uMkhonto weSizwe, under Jacob Zuma, and Economic Freedom Fighters, under Julius Malema.

“The reason that my party, which has been an opposition party, chose to join hands with M. Ramaphosa’s party was precisely to keep those people out of power. We cannot have those people sitting at the Union Buildings and making decisions.”

The Mk Party’s member of Parliament (MP) Mzwanele Manyi said that Steenhuisen’s

remarks were not sanctioned by Parliament and carried no constitutional authority.

He argued that Steenhuisen’s comments breached Section 2 of Parliament’s Code of Ethics, which requires members to carry out their duties with diligence and honesty.

The MK Party has also implicated Ramaphosa, accusing him of failing to correct Steenhuisen’s statements.

As part of its relief, the party is calling on the Presidency to issue a clarification to both the South African public and the international community.