Can Shikota Cope?

A month before its formal launch Mosiuoa Lekota’s Congress of the People (Cope) is facing internal tensions, according to sources in the movement. But the leadership moved speedily this week to brush off talk of divisions as ANC propaganda.

Supporters of one of the founding members, former deputy defence minister Mluleki George, are understood to be unhappy at what they perceive as interim deputy chairperson Mbhazima Shilowa’s moves to take control of the movement, with George being relegated to the lesser positions of treasurer and national organiser.

A highly placed source on Cope’s organising committee told the Mail & Guardian that an atmosphere of distrust ‘is beginning to show”.

‘He [George] is unhappy that he’s been relegated to the position of treasurer after running with this thing from Polokwane,” said the source.

Cope’s youth convener, Anele Mda, said the leadership has heard claims that George is unhappy and has discussed the matter at meetings.

‘It’s a campaign by the ANC to divide us, so that we fail to provide a new political home for South Africans,” she said. Mda said a text message was circulated among ANC members telling them that sowing division in Cope should be a strategy to defeat it. ‘Unfortunately I happened to be one of the people who received that SMS,” she said.

Mda forwarded the alleged SMS to the M&G. It reads: ‘What do you make of Shilowa and Lekota today? Are they not deceivers and sell outs? We must destabalise [sic] them now and spread rumours that the two of them are climbing the high [sic] but George isn’t regarded as leadership. If we popularised this it will work …”

George denied feeling undermined, but said he was aware of the rumour. ‘There is no relegation whatsoever,” he said, adding that the claim was designed to destabilise the movement. ‘I’ve worked to make sure that this organisation exists and that it’s led by credible people, and I’m happy with that.”

Shilowa said the rumour was news to him. ‘It’s the first time I have heard of that,” he said. ‘If it’s there, we should be able to discuss it.”

Shilowa said a day after Lekota’s first press conference, at which the plan for a national convention was announced, he met Lekota to discuss ways of preparing for the convention. George attended some of the meetings. Asked about Mda’s comment that the allegation had been doing the rounds for three weeks, Shilowa said: ‘She may have heard it, but I’m hearing it for the first time — and I’m speaking on behalf of Mosiuoa Lekota as well.”

The Cope movement was first introduced to the public at a media conference in Johannesburg fronted by Lekota and George on October 8.

Shilowa climbed aboard a week later, introducing himself as ‘convener and volunteer-in-chief”. He has since received more publicity than the other leaders, prompting some speculation that he could lead the new party.

George worked mainly behind the scenes in the build-up to the convention and was not on a list of keynote speakers at the event.

The media nickname for the movement, Shikota, may have aggravated his sense of playing second fiddle.

At the convention Shilowa jokingly attempted to add George’s name to it.

George said he would continue working to build the new party, regardless of his position.

‘Leadership to us is not one person — it’s a collective,” he said. ‘We’re facing a huge challenge and they’re going to try everything to divide us. When we formed this committee we spoke about it and said to comrades: ‘Nobody must see this as a guarantee for the December congress. Just because you’re a chairperson doesn’t mean you’ll become a presidential candidate.’”

The interim leadership is likely to change next month when the party holds an elective congress from December 14 to 16. After the national leadership is elected the party’s election list will be compiled.

Interim leaders who will prepare for the December conference include Lekota as a chairperson, Shilowa as his deputy, former ANC national executive committee member Charlotte Lobe as secretary and George as national organiser and treasurer.

Sector conveners are former MP Kiki Rwexana for women, Mda for youth and businesswoman, Hilda Ndude for business. Former Cosatu president and South African Communist Party central committee member Willie Madisha has been tasked with organising labour, while former Sanco president Mlungisi Hlongwane will take care of civic organisations.