The investigation by the National Land Committee (NLC) board and its affiliates into Zakes Hlatshwayo, CEO of its national office in Johannesburg, has raised concerns among supporters that he is being deliberately silenced to ”immobilise and nullify” the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), which has close links with the NLC.
The concerns are linked to information received by the Mail & Guardian from land activists, who spoke on condition of anonymity about the reasons for the investigation.
Activists say the African National Congress wants to gain greater control of the LPM, through the NLC board.
The M&G reported at the beginning of the month that the investigation, which began in September, was allegedly based on concerns of members of some of the affiliated land-rights organisations about Hlatshwayo during the last week of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
An investigation into the allegations was concluded at the end of October and the disciplinary hearing will be completed by end of this month or the middle of next month.
A land activist said comments by NLC land rights coordinator Andile Mngxitama during the summit sparked the hearing. The comments allegedly undermined the NLC constitution. Mngxitama apparently declared 2003 the year of the landless, saying that if the government did not respect its promises to redistribute land, the LPM would begin illegal occupation.
Mngxitama is also alleged to have supported the Zimbabwean land invasions. The activist said the comments were made on an SABC 3 news clip.
”The board approached Hlatshwayo to take action against his employee [Mngxitama] based on these comments. However, he was unwilling because of insufficient proof. The board warned that if Hlatshwayo failed to take action, they would be forced to discipline him,” an activist said.
Neither Hlatshwayo nor Mngxitama was able to confirm the information because they were instructed by the board not to speak to the press under threat of suspension. NLC board chairperson Wayne Jordaan said this was to ”avoid untruths before they arose”. He refused to comment on the information about Mngxitama.
But most activists feel that there is more to the investigation than meets the eye. They say the terms of reference for the investigation were never explained to Hlatshwayo and he is still ”unclear what exactly the charges are”.
Although the comments may have set the ball rolling, activists say the ”point of contention has changed”, and the investigation has become politically motivated because the ANC wants to gain greater control of the LPM, through the NLC board.
”The disciplinary hearing is about the balance of power. The ANC is fighting for political control of the LPM, which, since its formation, has taken on a life of its own.”
Activists say members of the National Intelligence Agency tried to disrupt regional LPM meetings in the build-up to the summit, in a push to form an integrated movement between the ANC and the LPM.
Butizi Hlatshwayo, the LPM representative in Mpumulanga for the NLC, said The Rural Action Committee (Trac), the NLC affiliate in the province, is closely linked to the ANC. ”The Trac [Mpumalanga] policemen say the ANC wants to take over the LPM,” he said.
Trac Mpumalanga director Chris Williams insited that they were an ”aparty political organisation”.
”We are not apolitical because land is inherently a political site but we do not represent or support one or other political party,” he said.
Activists say the government did not expect the LPM to gain the momentum that it has since its formation in 2001. It was initially supported by the NLC but it is becoming more independent as international NGOs, such as the British War on Want, are funding it directly.
”This gives it greater capacity as an independent movement, making it more difficult for the NLC to control.”
The silencing of Hlatshwayo and Mngxitama is further evidence, they say, that the hearing has become a ”political battle” and a drawn-out attempt to ”paralyse” the LPM.
”The instruction that they do not speak to the press is a direct obstruction and alteration of their terms of contract,” said activists, adding that it is Mngxitama’s specific job to lobby for the NLC and to speak to the press.
Jordaan said he did not need to justify why the two men are still forbidden to talk to the press four months after the start of the investigation.
”The fact that they cannot speak is part of our [NLC] policy. I do not have to justify our policy.”
The disciplinary process is yet to begin because the appointed chairperson ”needs to find a date that suits all the parties concerned”, said Jordaan. He said that the chairperson could not be named ”because of board policy”.
Jordaan refused to comment on the nature of the disciplinary hearing. He said: ”By publishing material about the hearing before it is complete you [the M&G] are jeopardising our employee [Hlatshwayo] because you are surmising and guessing.”