HOGARTH | If only Cabanac were a cadre

If only Cabanac were a cadre

Somewhere in these pages, Desperate Alliance leader John Steenhuisen says he is frustrated by his estranged chief of staff — Roman Cabanac — who is refusing to resign despite a clear instruction to do so. Thanks to the country’s labour laws, Steenhuisen would have to prove that Cabanac is incapable of occupying the position or that he committed a dismissable offence. 

So desperate is Steenhuisen for Cabanac to go that those close to the DA leader say he is even considering a payout. 

See the downside of not having cadre deployment as policy? If Cabanac were a “deployed cadre” he would have known that as a “disciplined cadre”, once the leader says you go, you go.

In moments like this, Hogarth bets even Steenhuisen wishes his party practised a bit of the Stalinism that is the hallmark of the ANC, EFF and MK Party.

ANCing the last of Zuma yet

If Friday’s news is anything to go by, the Nkandla Crooner’s Stalingrad approach to his expulsion from the ANC has finally reached a dead end. The ANC’s disciplinary appeals committee upheld an earlier decision to expel the MK Party leader as a member. 

But knowing Zuma and his lawyer Dali Mpofu, Hogarth is not convinced that we’ve heard the last of this story.

Hogarth won’t be surprised if Baba KaDuduzane’s next move is to approach the courts in a bid to convince them to force the ANC to take him back as a member, even when he now runs a rival political party whose main objective is to remove the very ANC from power.

What? Lawyers pay back the money?

While we wait for that possible case, Hogarth has been fascinated by the man’s legal strategy on another unrelated matter.

The former president is now in court over attempts by the state to get him to pay the R28m legal bill that the court has said shouldn’t be paid by the taxpayer.

According to reports, the Nkandla Crooner told the court there were prospects of the state claiming the money back from the estate of his late senior counsel Kemp J Kemp. This argument seemed to suggest that there was an expectation that the lawyers, and not Zuma as the client, should reimburse the state.

In papers filed before the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, state attorney Isaac Chowe had some choice quotes in his application for Zuma’s arguments to be thrown out, describing them as “bizarre” among other things. He said Zuma’s current lawyers “ought to be castigated for making such allegations on behalf of [Zuma]”.

“There is no order to the effect that legal fees paid to legal representatives must be repaid by the legal representatives themselves,” Chowe said. 

“I submit that the court should show its displeasure at such baseless allegations, which have no legal foundation and do not form part of any remedy known to me under the prevailing circumstances.”

Aluminium spears, please, no plastic

While he’s avoiding paying legal fees, his MK Party is gearing up for its first anniversary celebrations, with the rally due to be held on December 15 in Durban.

So, party bosses thought it prudent to meet potential vendors at Umhlanga’s Hilton hotel to discuss, among other things, “terms and conditions for trading MKP merchandise”.

The MKP memo further stated “we kindly request all merchandisers to bring their best-quality regalia products for evaluation. This will help us grade the products and assign stands accordingly.”

Grading? What grading? These party regalia are cheap imports from the nearest R5 shop!

Minister of art of taking credit

Minister of sport, arts and culture Gayton McKenzie was at the end of a well-deserved backlash after he seemed to want credit for Bafana Bafana’s classy performance. “When I met Safa, I was clear that for our continued support we demand Bafana Bafana qualify for Afcon and the World Cup. I congratulate the leadership and players for jumping over the first hurdle, one more to go. I am proud. Our football is back, thank you,” he wrote on X. When he was called out, he changed tune saying he had done nothing to inspire our national soccer team to glory. We know that — next time your message should end at congratulating our boys.