Following Police Minister Fikile Mbalula's stern warning to his comrades about polling against President Jacob Zuma in a vote of no confidence, African National Congress Member of Parliament Makhosi Khoza spoke to HuffPost SA about issues affecting the ANC, including the no-confidence vote, intimidation and the consequences of voting against Zuma.
Khoza said the vote of confidence secret ballot, which she told eNCA on Monday she had asked for, was about more than voting for or against a leader.
"It's not necessarily about the outcome. It's about exercising my decision-making process despite the intimidation," she said to HuffPost SA.
"It does not matter whether the motion has been brought by opposition parties, but what matters is voting with a moral conscience," Khoza said.
People within the party have intimidated Khoza on numerous occasions. The ANC Youth League has called for her removal as an MP and in May Khoza said she feared for her life because of threats made by the Young Lions.
On Monday, Mbalula said anyone who voted against Zuma would be "dealt with". He likened them to suicide bombers.
"I respect the mandate and it is my duty to uphold the ANC constitution. Is the ANC a field of hyenas? Which rule have I broken? While I fear for my safety, I cannot just keep quiet," she said.
Opposition parties requested a secret ballot to remove Zuma as the sitting president. In April, Speaker Baleka Mbete said she did not have the powers to institute a secrete ballot vote of no confidence. In June, the Constitutional Court ruled that the speaker of the National Assembly was wrong to say that a secret ballot was not allowed in Parliament for a motion of no confidence against Zuma. But Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said it would be a violation of the separation of powers to order the speaker to conduct a secret ballot.
Khoza said the ANC was not able to stand up for what is right, which is why she needs to stand up.
"I am speaking out because I am tired. It is a repeating cycle of inconsistency," she said.
"I have a moral disagreement with the ANC. How can Jacob Zuma solve internal issues when he is not disciplined himself? He must be careful, and he will be held accountable. This is the reason why there is a moral disagreement," she said.
Khoza said she was not afraid of being removed as a member of the party.
"If they do kick me out of the ANC, the party is probably confirming that people like me are not needed," she said. Because she is being threatened "somehow it feels as if we are being told the ANC's constitution is superior to the country's Constitution".
She said educated members of the ANC were often treated as outsiders.
"Some of us have are being categorised as clever blacks because of our qualifications, so am I supposed to feel bad because of my PhD?" she said.
The vote of no confidence has been scheduled for August 8.