The former veteran of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Carl Niehaus, who was expelled from the party in December, announced yesterday the creation of a political organization for those who feel "betrayed" by the former South African liberation movement.

The former spokesman for the ruling ANC and former president Nelson Mandela, who is a supporter of former president Jacob Zuma, told the local press that the new political movement intends to work "broadly" for the "full liberation" of the South African people, without giving details.

"This will also work for the liberation of those many comrades in the African National Congress who have been betrayed by a sell-out, dishonest capitalist group, an agent of white monopoly capital," said Niehaus, quoted by the South African press and Lusa.

"Our invitation to all of them is to join us in a re-dedication and commitment to full liberation," he said.

Niehaus, who was a member of the ruling ANC for more than 40 years, stressed that the current party in power since 1994 in South Africa no longer represents the black majority in the country.

Carl Niehaus, who was expelled weeks before the ruling party's national congress in December, had already been suspended from the ANC at the beginning of last year for flouting a party directive to dissolve the uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), of which he was spokesperson, and for publicly criticizing the leadership of the current President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also president of the party.