“No Intentions of Apologising”: ANC NEC Wants Sisulu to Explain Her Remarks

• Key members of the African National Congress NEC are calling for Lindiwe Sisulu to account for her controversial remarks about the judiciary
• The NEC held a meeting over the weekend to discuss the matter with many saying her actions have reflected negatively on the party
• Sisulu's spokesperson, Steve Motale insists it was not the Ministers intention to stir up any controversy

ANC NEC members including many veterans of the organisation are calling for Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to account for her remarks.

This follows Sisulu's very controversial comments on the judiciary that earned her a verbal reprimand from Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, eNCA reports.

The ANC NEC held a two-day meeting over the weekend to discuss what many believe have been transgressions on Sisulu's part. If successful, the NEC's complaints could see the Minister appear before the ANC's integrity commission.

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Asked about Sisulu's remarks and her very public denial of ever apologising to President Cyril Ramaphosa, spokesperson Steve Motale had this to say to EWN:

"Nobody in their right mind dares their boss to fire them, nobody, and that's not the intention of the minister. Those are misplaced insinuations."

"Her intention was to contribute to the public discourse on some very burning issues and she is glad that her column has generated such huge interest," he added.

SA notices Sisulu used state resources to call out Ramaphosa's media team

In related news, Briefly News previously reported that the saga between President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu has intensified again.

Sisulu issued another statement in response to the office of the Presidency's previous statement that said Sisulu has apologised for the hurtful comments she hurled at the Constitution and the judiciary.

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"The comedy show continues": South Africans entertained by opposing statements made by Sisulu and Ramaphosa

In her recent statement issued on Friday, 21 January, Sisulu still maintains that she has no intention of apologising for what she said, in fact, she believes the people at fault is President Cyril Ramaphosa's media team.

The Tourism Minister says the media team misinterpreted her meeting with Ramaphosa at his home and that is why they issued that apology statement, reports News24.

Sisulu says in the meeting, she only agreed to reconsider a certain line she had said about the judiciary and there was no agreement that she would retract her entire opinion piece. Sisulu gave no indication about the line she plans to reconsider.

She went on to say that she has respect for the President and his office, however, she says the media team acted in a mischievous manner.

South Africans call out Sisulu for using state resources

Social media users noticed that Sisulu's recent statement had the Ministry of Tourism letterhead. They wondered why she was using state resources to reply to comments she made in her personal capacity.

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Lindiwe Sisulu retracts 'hurtful' judiciary comments after meeting with Cyril Ramaphosa

Others are seemingly over the spat between the Sisulu and Ramaphosa and have called her out for playing politics.

Here are some comments:

@gwele_zola said:

"Now it becomes a forced view of the dept & a section of govt & rest of society to engage in split opinion? Since the President by law appointed you & not obliged to give any reason this calls for dismissal so that u can freely campaign against our constitutional democratic system."

@CecilPadayachee said:

"The tweet from the Presidency referred specifically to the judiciary comments. It's exactly what you are retracting. And let's not play games. You were reprimanded by the President. That's what 'admonish' means. Don't spin this. Thanks for the retraction."

Source: Briefly News