Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and Yazini Tetyana, two senior EFF officials, have stepped down from their positions as parliamentarians.
The party’s national spokesperson, Leigh-Ann Mathys, confirmed the resignations in a media statement on Thursday morning.
Ndlozi’s departure from parliament comes after a time when there was clear division within the party.
Since 2014, after the EFF contested elections for the first time, he has been a prominent figure in the National Assembly.
Additionally, Ndlozi, a prominent member of the EFF and the party’s former spokesperson, was not permitted to attend the national conference in Nasrec in December, where party leader Julius Malema was re-elected as president.
This decision came after Ndlozi was excluded from important party events, such as the weekly war council and central command team meetings, of which he was an important member.
Character assassination
According to party sources at the time, this action was a component of a broader political ploy by factions backing Godrich Gardee, the newly appointed deputy president of the EFF.
It was believed that Ndlozi’s exclusion was a calculated move to keep him from running for the same position.
Unfounded rumours then circulated that he was thinking of leaving the EFF to either reunite with Floyd Shivambu, the former EFF deputy president, in the MK Party or return to academia.
Insiders who support Ndlozi maintained that he was a victim of character assassination in spite of his recent initiatives to fortify EFF branches across the country.
However, party critics continue to doubt his motives, believing he is secretly rallying support for an unexpected bid for leadership.
Tetyana’s career has been noteworthy; he started off in the Eastern Cape provincial legislature before his deployment to parliament.
Ndlozi and Tetyana submitted their resignation requests to Marshall Dlamini, the secretary-general of the EFF within days of each other.
Ndlozi and Tetyana reportedly conveyed their appreciation for the opportunity to serve the party and the people of South Africa, according to Mathys.
The party accepts resignations
Both representatives’ resignations have been accepted by the party, which also recognised their contributions while in office.
Mathys called their service “exemplary” and wished them both luck in their future pursuits.
Their departure comes after a long list of EFF members, including Shivambu, Patrick Sindane, Mmabatho Mokause, Kenny Motsamai, and Busisiwe Mkhwebane, left the party recently.
Mpho Morolane, the former head of the EFF Students Command, also left the organisation to join the MKP.
Mkhwebane had said that she was taking a break to spend time with her family following the protracted legal dispute with the Office of the Public Protector.
She was soon named the MKP’s convener for Mpumalanga.
