During the ANC's Interim Provincial Committee's (IPC) media briefing on Thursday, coordinator Paseka Nompondo told journalists that Vusi Tshabalala, who won a case against the IPC, was in 2021 ousted as the Chief Whip of the majority party in the Legislature, the ANC, following his suspension in 2021.

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He says the ANC took a decision to replace Tshabalala - an ally of the suspended ANC Secretary-General (SG) Ace Magashule - with Thabo Meeko as the Chief Whip of the party whilst Tshabalala now sits on the benches of the House as an ordinary Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL).

Magashule's ally was charged and suspended after he was accused of working with opposition parties to topple the ruling party in the Qwaqwa-based Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality and in June 2022, the ANC disciplinary committee acquitted (DC) him on all charges.

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Nompondo says there are no outstanding issues around the Tshabalala matter.  

Tshabalala previously told OFM News that his suspension was a witch hunt and has always been on the cards because of his support for the legally embattled Magashule, who is facing charges of fraud and corruption in the High Court over the failed R255 million asbestos case.

ALSO READ: 'My suspension a witch-hunt' - former ANC Chief Whip

Following his suspension, Tshabalala said he holds no grudges against his prosecutors who charged and suspended him. He said charges against him were malicious and baseless but still subjected him to disciplinary proceedings.

ALSO READ: ANC Chief Whip holds no grudges

“I faced several charges brought against me by our organisation, the ANC, and as a disciplined member of the ANC, I submitted myself to the disciplinary hearing throughout. Comrade Dr Mathews Phosa, our previous Treasurer-General (TG), represented and defended me in the hearing in which I’ve been found not guilty. I always believed in my innocence and I was proved right," he added.

In November 2021, disciplinary proceedings were abruptly postponed following the alleged tension between the suspended whip and the disciplinary committee's chairperson.

Tshabalala’s disciplinary hearing on 23 November was postponed to 6 December after Tshabalala accused the chairperson of the committee of turning the hearing into a trial within a trial. He had requested the chairperson of the disciplinary committee to recuse himself due to a conflict of interest.

OFM News