Cosatu boss deported

Source: City Press, 07/05/2017

Satawu is adamant that general secretary is still in the country.
A powerful unionist in the tripartite alliance has been deported to
Zimbabwe after the department of home affairs’ investigation into his
nationality revealed he was living in South Africa without the
necessary permits.


City Press learnt this week that immigration officials arrested South
African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) general secretary
Zenzo Mahlangu and deported him on Thursday.


Mahlangu did not respond to text messages and calls on Friday. The
voice message on his phone indicated that the number was incorrect.


However, it is the same number appearing on Satawu
statements, and that Satawu spokesperson Zanele Sabela provided to
City Press.


Home affairs acting spokesperson David Hlabane confirmed that Mahlangu
had been arrested and deported on Thursday this week. “He was deported
on the same day, May 4; he chose not to exercise his right to
challenge the deportation, but opted to purchase his own flight ticket
and depart immediately instead of being deported through Lindela.


“Home affairs received information that Mr Mahlangu was in possession
of a South African identity document that identified him as a South
African citizen by birth, while he is actually a Zimbabwean
national.

The matter was investigated and it was found that
he had acquired the South African identity document through
misrepresentation,” Hlabane explained.


He said the department was not in a position to know if anyone being
investigated was a high-profile person because all reported cases were
afforded the same attention, irrespective of the social status and
standing of an individual.


Despite Hlabane’s confirmation, Sabela remained adamant on Friday that
Mahlangu was still in the country and had not been arrested or
deported.


“He was not arrested or deported ... That kind of a narrative has been
perpetuated to membership [on] Facebook by splinter unions out of
Satawu,” she insisted, adding that City Press should keep trying to
call Mahlangu on the cellphone number she provided.


Mahlangu broke ranks with Cosatu recently, announcing that Satawu
would not endorse Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as the next ANC
leader because Treasury, the SA Reserve Bank and the Constitution have
constrained the ANC’s ability to transform the economy. Public sector
unions are largely in favour of Ramaphosa.


Mahlangu, who is also an ANC branch member, said individuals in the
upcoming battle for ruling party leadership did not matter. What
mattered, he said, was whether the ANC shifted its policy trajectory
to usher in an era of economic freedom.


However, Mahlangu has led a troubled industrial union, which has been
through two splits since 2012. The union has endured the acquittal of
Mahlangu on a charge of abusing union funds, the resignations and
expulsions of senior officials and the assassination of its Gauteng
leader, Chris Nkosi, for which no one has been arrested to date.


Two Satawu splinter unions denied any involvement. National Transport
Movement general secretary Ephraim Mphahlele said they had not peddled
any information about Mahlangu’s nationality.


He said there had always been concerns that Mahlangu could not speak
the South African version of isiNdebele and it was suspected his name
was not, in fact, Zenzo Mahlangu.


“We couldn’t get to the bottom of that. We are not involved. There are
a number of splinter groups from Satawu,” he said.


Democratised Transport Logistics and Allied Workers’ Union (Detawu)
general secretary Vusi Ntshangase said the union had nothing to do
with Satawu’s “shenanigans”.


“Our preoccupation is to build Detawu. If there are issues in Satawu,
they need to clear those with the department of home affairs and the
police. If they have people in the country illegally, they must be
assisted to go back home and be given free transport,” Ntshangase
quipped.