Thabiso Goba4 July 2024 | 8:45

Electoral Court slaps 2 MK Party members with R150k fines

Recently sworn-in member of parliament Visvin Reddy and former leader of the MK Youth League, Bonginkosi Khanyile were both sanctioned by the court.

Electoral Court slaps 2 MK Party members with R150k fines

Picture: A man wearing an MK Party shirt attends the Shekainah Healing Ministries Prophetic Pillowcase service where Former President Jacob Zuma was present, in Phillipi, near Cape Town, on March 10, 2024. Picture: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP

JOHANNESBURG - The Electoral Court has slapped two senior uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party members with suspended R150,000 fines for incendiary remarks.

Recently sworn-in member of Parliament Visvin Reddy and former leader of the MK Youth League, Bonginkosi Khanyile were both sanctioned by the court.

The fines are suspended for five years on condition they do not undermine any of the country’s electoral process. 

In March this year, Khanyile told a media briefing that if Jacob Zuma was removed from the party’s list as a candidate, there wouldn’t be any elections.

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In the same month, Reddy spoke at an MK event saying there would be riots during the elections if the party lost its trademark case against the African National Congress (ANC).
 
Reddy said he was happy with the fine as he believes his comments were taken out of context.

“I just want to put this behind me and get on with work, but the thing is none of whatever was said happened, we didn’t have the violence, we didn’t have all these things, which was a good thing and it’s something that I wanted, a peaceful election.”

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) which was the applicant in this matter, failed in its request to the court to have Reddy disqualified as a candidate for Parliament.