The decision by the ANC's National Disciplinary Committee to expel former president Jacob Zuma was never in doubt. The reaction by the MK party was not a surprise either: that, and Zuma's likely appeal, illustrate the party's real strategy - to rely on the politics of spectacle in the shorter term to cause more waves, while successfully obscuring an apparent lack of policy consistency in the longer term.
Listen to this article 8 min Listen to this article 8 min On Monday morning, the first reports that the ANC's national disciplinary committee had decided to expel Zuma were published.
Considering that Zuma has been recognised as the leader of MK by the Electoral Commission and that he had openly campaigned for them, there was no doubt he was going to be expelled.
No party can afford to have its own members campaigning against it, and in direct competition.
That said, the fact that NDC member Faith Muthambi voted to expel him may have come as a surprise.
Displays of her moral rectitude have been few and far between.
When in government she presided over the appointment of Hlaudi Mostoeneng as Chief Operations Officer at the SABC, and all that that led to.
She was even prepared to rebel against an ANC decision in a way that had huge negative ramifications for our television industry.
All these moves could only have been because Zuma wanted it - it was through Muthambi that he controlled aspects of the Communications Ministry and government policy. And it was because of Zuma that she went against ANC policy.
Despite that, Muthambi...