Western Cape ANC leaders are coming under physical attack as tensions rise within the fractured organisation ahead of provincial leadership elections next month.
Last week ANC deputy provincial secretary Max Ozinsky found his bakkie tyres slashed after attending the ANC’s annual general meeting in Philippi, where he was booed off stage and then locked inside the parking area outside the venue.
Two weeks ago the office of the finance minister Lynne Brown was broken into and her files and computers were scrutinised. On the night of the ‘break-in†the security cameras on the first floor of the legislature building were apparently not working.
In another incident four weeks ago, ANC metro organiser Ben Sizani was allegedly abducted in Philippi and held hostage at gunpoint for some hours before being released. The incident has been reported to the police.
The ANC’s provincial leadership election will be held on June 28 and 29.
A senior ANC member who did not want to be named said: ‘The situation is extremely tense. What we’re seeing now is a continuation of the old political battles within the province. But it’s getting more and more hectic and the threats of violence are on the increase.â€
Just before the ANC national congress in Polokwane last year, the Western Cape secretary of the ANC Youth League, Thandi Mahambehlala, had her car set alight while attending a meeting in Philippi.
Another senior ANC person, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the break-in at Brown’s office was more than simple burglary. ‘Whoever broke into her office wasn’t interested in stealing because they took nothing — this was not criminal.â€
Brown’s office is on the same floor as that of Premier Ebrahim Rasool, but no attempt was made to enter his office. Ozinsky and Brown are both perceived as aligned with ANC Western Cape secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha, a fierce political rival of both the premier and ANC provincial chair James Ngculu. Two weeks ago the ANC Youth League nominated Skwatsha as its preferred chairperson.
In June all the ANC branches across the province will have to hold their AGMs and elect delegates for the provincial conference. They will decide the bitterly contested battle between Ngculu and Skwatsha for control of the ANC in the Western Cape.
Philippi is one of the biggest branches and also apparently the only uncontested pro-Rasool and Ngculu branch in the province. The delegate elections are heavily contested, especially in the big branches, which are particularly powerful because they carry a bloc vote in leadership elections.
Ozinsky was threatened after he stopped the AGM because it did not have a quorum. The Philippi branch has more than 1Â 700 members and requires 50% plus one member to constitute a quorum — but only 500 people were at the meeting.
An ANC supporter who accompanied Ozinsky told the Mail & Guardian they were ‘convinced†the Philippi attack was an attempt to ambush him.
‘It was really tense and we were told there were three armed men in the hall. When Max said that the meeting couldn’t continue to nominate branch leaders, people got very angry indeed and started accusing Max of taking sides politically.
‘We were very nervous because not only were his tyres cut with a knife, but he was locked inside the venue. This is not a very safe part of Philippi. We thought it was an ambush. I thought we’d get shot at,†the ANC member told the M&G.
‘We took a different route out of Philippi — it was scary and things just didn’t feel good,†he said.
Ozinsky said: ‘It’s unacceptable to threaten and intimidate people — it goes against the policy and ethos of the ANC. I did feel threatened but I will not be intimidated. I think this is a problem that exists in that branch. In the past senior leaders of the ANC lost their lives because of similar Âincidents.â€
Mbulelo Ncedane, regional secretary of the ANC, could not be reached for comment.
The Philippi branch is seen as the heartland of the ANC and has a reputation for political intrigue. Ten years ago an ANC councillor and his two body-guards were shot and killed during an election meeting in the very hall from which Ozinsky was chased.