The tit-for-tat leadership battle within the Congress of the People (Cope) continued on Tuesday as the faction supporting Cope deputy president Mbhazima Shilowa finally served court papers on Cope president Mosiuoa Lekota.
This marks the beginning of court proceedings by the Shilowa faction to challenge the legality of a meeting of senior party leaders held on Friday last week.
The matter is expected to be heard in court on Thursday.
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 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 publicly 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 in May this year.
It was at the chaotic conference that Shilowa’s faction passed a vote of no confidence in Lekota. But 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 place 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 this week 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 had been in the office all day on Tuesday, where they were finally emailed to him on Tuesday afternoon.
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.