The tit-for-tat leadership battles within the Congress of the People (Cope) dragged on for a further day with no resolution by 6pm on Tuesday. This followed after the party faction supporting Cope deputy president Mbhazima Shilowa failed to begin their much publicised high court challenge to the legality of a meeting of senior party leaders held on Friday last week.
The meeting of the congress national committee (CNC), the highest decision making body within Cope, decided on a number of matters that have been at the heart of the leadership squabbles within the party in recent weeks, including allegations of mismanagement of Cope’s parliamentary funds. It is understood however that Shilowa supporters boycotted the meeting.
Cope president and co-founder Mosiuoa Lekota has alleged that Shilowa, as chief whip in Parliament, has mismanaged its parliamentary funds, intended to support political parties in their parliamentary and constituency work.
Lekota recently requested that Parliament freeze Cope’s accounts.
The party is faced with mounting bills for its national conference that was held in May this year.
It was at the chaotic conference that Shilowa’s faction passed a vote of no confidence in Lekota. However a high court decision found the conference where the vote was called was illegal and the decision ”a flagrant disregard for the rules of natural justice”.
On Friday the CNC resolved to launch a forensic investigation into the parliamentary accounts; it stripped Shilowa and administrative whip Lolo Mashiane of their financial powers, although they retain their positions as party whip and it decided to accept the resignation of Mvuma Dandala the Cope’s leader in Parliament, and install Lekota in this position.
Dandala is reported to have resigned because he could no longer stomach the infighting within Cope.
Shilowa’s faction however want to challenge the legality of the CNC, along with the legality of an earlier congress working committee meeting, which set the stage for the CNC.
According to spokesperson Onkgopotse JJ Tabane, CNC meetings can only be convened by the general secretary Charlotte Lobe, who is a Shilowa supporter. He denied claims by Lekota’s camp that despite numerous calls for her to convene a CNC meeting made by the president, she did not respond, nor did she attend the meeting.
The only meeting that she [the general secretary Lobe] has convened is one set for 14 July,” said Tabane.
Media reports earlier on Tuesday carried allegations by Shilowa’s camp that Lekota has avoided being served with the court papers.
But Lekota has denied this and Cope spokesperson Phillip Dexter told Mail & Guardian that Lekota has been in the office all day, but the papers had yet to be filed. Dexter said that Lekota had been in Bloemfontein on Monday, but had received no calls from Shilowa’s attorneys.
When asked about the allegations that Lekota had been dodging the delivery of the court papers, Tabane said, ”I know nothing about this.”
Dexter argued that despite claims by Shilowa’s camp — in the absence of the general secretary — the deputy general secretary may convene the CNC.
”They are wasting everyone’s time and money with this interdict, but we have a responsibility to defend the organisation,” he said.