Cde Vavi's statement to Mr Dlamini's attacks
March 16 2014
It has become a norm that every time the COSATU President, Mr Sidumo Dlamini, opens his mouth he throws mud on the COSATU General Secretary Cde Zwelinzima Vavi with the hope that some of it will stick.
The truth of the matter is that the General Secretary was supposedly placed on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation for his relationship with a staff member in the office environment. The public also knows that the General Secretary apologised countless times, took full responsibility for his action and called on the Federation to take steps that will protect its image.
The public knows that the faction led by the COSATU President appointed two sets of forensic auditors to try find any dirt that they could use to fire Cde Vavi. The public also knows that the General Secretary fully cooperated with all the numerous parallel investigations even though none of these had anything to do with the reason why he was placed on suspension.
The public also knows that after five months of his illegal suspension, the charges served on the General Secretary were leaked to newspapers with clear intention to subject him to a media trial.
The General Secretary has categorically stated in public that notwithstanding that these charges are an attempt to cast the net wide with the hope of finding a single fish to use to justify the preconceived plan to dismiss him, he would attend the hearing but insists that the hearing must be fair and should not be used to further violate his rights.
The public knows that COSATU has rejected a request by the General Secretary to fund his legal representation after COSATU, at its cost, decided to invite legal gurus to chair the hearing and to represent COSATU. The General Secretary insists that a hearing where COSATU as an employer is represented by a senior counsel, but refuses to pay for the accused person's own representation, will be grossly unfair.
We also place on record that it is a lie that the General Secretary has refused to attend any hearing. He has not been invited to attend any hearing. This lie has now also been repeated by the likes of Mr Thulas Nxesi and other leaders of the SACP.
This is a blatant attempt to justify the illegal suspension which is now into the eighth month.
Whilst the charges facing the General Secretary are nine and have been made public, every time the COSATU President speaks he seems to be adding more and widening the scope of investigations.
Due process suggests that when you suspend a person you do so subject to an investigation so that the person concerned may not influence or interfere with investigations. Investigations into Cde Vavi were concluded and charges issued in January 2014, and yet more investigations are continuing.
This week, without proof, Mr Dlamini has accused Cde Vavi of plotting against the ANC. This latest claim is as ridiculous as the previous ones contained in the bogus intelligence report which Mr Dlamini circulated to some union leaders last year.
Mr Dlamini and the authors of this bogus want the public to believe this nonsense so that they can justify purging campaigns and the persecution of political opponents in the alliance.
Statement issued by John Dludlu, Vavi family spokesman, March 16 2014
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
