The Congress of the People’s interim president, Mosiuoa ”Terror” Lekota, has been accused of ”terrorising” the party’s provinces, allegedly as part of a campaign to cling to his position.
This week several national and provincial party leaders accused Lekota of placing his personal interests ahead of those of the organisation by orchestrating the purge of provincial leaders he suspected of favouring his rival, Mbhazima Shilowa, for the leadership.
Cope is to elect leaders at a conference tentatively set for December.
Last week Lekota embarked on ”surprise visits” to the Eastern Cape, North West and Northern Cape, allegedly to catch his opponents unprepared.
”His strategy is that he comes unannounced. He doesn’t follow organisational protocol. He jumps whenever he receives an SMS from people he thinks are on his side,” said a senior North West leader.
Attempts to contact Lekota failed, but Cope’s national spokesperson, Philip Dexter, said the claims were false. ”The only people who’ll be surprised are people who are doing something wrong,” Dexter said.
”It’s no secret that he’s visiting all provinces where the organisation is functioning below expectations. That includes swapping people around in positions.”
Dexter said that people who were removed from certain positions were still in leadership structures.
But in all three provinces provincial leaders who spoke to the Mail & Guardian claimed ignorance about Lekota’s visits.
A member of Cope’s congress national committee (CNC), who asked to remain anonymous, said Lekota felt he was the rightful president because he was Cope’s founder.
”His attitude is: ‘If I can’t have it, no one will’,” said the CNC member. ”It’s the same attitude that brought the Free State to the situation it’s in now.”
The ANC removed Lekota as the Free State’s first premier after branches protested that he was hiring and firing ministers unilaterally.
A second CNC member said Lekota’s ”hit list” included four provincial chairpeople — Andile Nkuhlu (Eastern Cape), Nikiwe Num-Mangqo (North West), Lawrence Khoza (Gauteng) and Mbulelo Ncedana (Western Cape).
Solly Mkhatshwa was removed as Limpopo chairperson to make way for former premier Sello Moloto. In Mpumalanga Prudence Madonsela was installed in Cope’s only legislature seat, despite provincial chairperson Sizile Ndlovu topping the candidate list.
Dexter said this was to strengthen the party. ”I’ve no doubt that there are people who are unhappy, but the decisions are not taken by Mr Lekota alone, they are taken by a collective, the CNC.”
At a meeting this weekend to restructure the provincial leadership Lekota’s North West supporters are allegedly planning to remove Num-Mangqo from her position.
On several occasions at party meetings Num-Mangqo has openly criticised Lekota’s decisions. But she denied that Lekota was behind plans to oust her.
”It’s not true that he wanted to remove me, it was a routine visit to the province,” she said. ”He questioned some of the province’s decisions, but I don’t expect that to cause problems.”
A North West MP and Lekota supporter said some provincial leaders failed to see that Lekota’s actions were intended to grow the organisation.
”Cope is his brainchild. He’s the only man brave enough to face powerful people in the ANC and challenge them in public,” said the MP. ”As the organisation’s head, when you receive information that raises concerns, you don’t wait for approval.”
In the Eastern Cape, where Lekota arrived last Friday, a group that allegedly backs him has formed a task team to lead the province — effectively a parallel leadership structure.
The group’s chairperson, Mzwandile Bula, denied it was formed by Lekota’s supporters. ”That’s factionalism and it’s wrong. We support all our national leaders.” But, he said: ”Lekota is our president and we don’t see anything wrong in being loyal to him.”
The task team was formed to lead the province until national leaders resolve grievances raised in a memorandum that urges the dissolution of the party’s provincial interim leadership group, led by Nkuhlu and secretary Archie Ralo.
This week the congress working committee denounced the formation of a task team. ”We said we won’t allow parallel structures in provinces,” said Dexter.
A CNC member close to Shilowa said he was unhappy with the changing of provincial leadership structures, but was reluctant to talk openly about it.
”He fears he’ll be considered one of the people who are causing problems in the party,” said the CNC member.
Shilowa was waiting for nominations for the elective conference before campaigning openly.