At the next elections for the government, the former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng will run for the presidency. The All African Alliance Movement, which was founded earlier this year, announced on Friday that Mogoeng had accepted the position of movement president.
The movement intended to run in the general elections of 2024. Mogoeng and his wife Mmaphefo are seen in a video that was circulated on social media holding hands as he is unveiled as the new president and head of the movement at his Mafikeng house. The movement’s secretary general, Bishop Mishark Tebe, stated that the electorate was in critical need of capable leadership in an interview with the media.
“We consulted extensively first to see what people on the ground wanted. He said through their findings, they realized that people wanted morals, employment, and land. People wanted a movement that they can be proud of. In other words, how can we do things that will take us back to 1994? We will remember that during the 1994 elections, everyone was excited and ready to vote, that is what people are looking for and also a leader of high caliber,” he said.
Tebe said the party would be prioritizing stability. “Looking at South Africa right now it seems as though it is a country without a leader with the current crime and economic issues. We are looking at all those aspects. People want to be led by a person who shows good morals and who leads by example,” he said.
Tebe stated that the movement’s policies would be further discussed when it was appropriate by the newly appointed president. “Our movement is purely based on anyone who delivers, irrespective of race, tradition, or religion,” said Tebe. Attempts to get a comment from Mogoeng Mogoeng were unsuccessful.
The Judicial Code of Conduct, however, indicates that Mogoeng’s ambition might not last long. Tebogo Khaas, the founder of Public Interest SA, said in a tweet that a retired judge is prohibited from engaging in party politics by the Judicial Code of Conduct. Khaas also reported that for more than six months, 400 tribe chiefs and a group of 1600 African religious leaders have met to address the difficulties South Africans are experiencing under the African National Congress (ANC).
Judge (Chiefly) for yourself… pic.twitter.com/9QPCelTSRU
— Tebogo Khaas (@tebogokhaas) August 7, 2022
According to a tweet from Khaas, the ANC delegation, led by ANC Chairperson Gwede Mantashe, allegedly showed no interest in the topic, and after at least three meetings, the party’s discussions came to an end.
“African leaders were demanding that the ANC approach President Ramaphosa to immediately resign and the Constitution of the Republic be amended so as to recognize the battle for the land to be given back to the owners under the Administration and Leadership of the Magoshi,” he wrote
Controversy is nothing new to Mogoeng. Following comments he made in a webinar with The Jerusalem newspaper in June 2020 in which he criticized the South African government’s stance on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and asserted that it would exert more influence if it adopted a more impartial stance, he received harsh criticism. After losing his appeal against a court lawsuit brought by the pro-Palestine group Africa4Palestine and others, Mogoeng had to apologize.
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