Malesela Maleka. (Supplied)
Malesela Maleka was removed as the voice of the South African Communist Party – a role he has performed since 2006 as spokesperson and head of communications – because party leaders believed his cautious and studious approach to current events was undermining the SACP's public profile.
On October 1, deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila, with whom Maleka has reportedly clashed in the past, announced that Alex Mashilo, the former provincial secretary of the Young Communist League in Gauteng, would be taking over as spokesperson.
Senior alliance leaders said this week that Maleka's axing was inevitable as soon as Mapaila was made second deputy general secretary in July last year. The position was created to allow Mapaila to run the party's affairs, leaving the general secretary, Blade Nzimande, to focus on his government job as minister of higher education and training. The SACP's first deputy general secretary, Jeremy Cronin, is deputy minister of public works and the party's deputy chairperson, Thulas Nxesi, is public works minister. Both Nzimande and Nxesi are also members of the ANC's national executive committee.
SACP members close to Maleka said this week that tension between the two had been evident for a while.
"Maleka and those close to him knew what was coming when Mapaila was elected deputy general secretary (DGS). Before the 2012 conference, Maleka's group flirted with Chris Matlhako [SACP head of international relations]. They even tried to influence SACP branches to elect Matlhako as a third deputy general secretary. They now have to deal with the consequences of that.
"Maleka never got close to the new DGS. When Mapaila was SACP co-ordinator, he had a different approach to Maleka on how the party's communication should be handled. He blamed Maleka for the party's poor communication. Maleka's view was that, unlike other political parties, the SACP should take time and analyse issues before it could respond. That's where there was a disjuncture between the two," the SACP member said.
According to another SACP insider, Maleka was so frustrated about the way Mapaila was treating him that he raised the matter with Nzimande. But Nzimande sided with Mapaila.
"Nzimande and Mapaila said they will organise funds for Maleka to study abroad. And Maleka was disappointed by Nzimande's reaction as he has been loyal to him for ages."
But sources close to Maleka say that it was he who inquired after study opportunities once he'd seen the writing on the wall. Maleka did not answer calls or respond to emails and SMSes sent to him.
Mapaila rejected suggestions that Maleka was removed because of tension between them.
He said the secretariat was responsible for communications in the party. "I have been heading the secretariat for the past five years," he said. To say that he (Mapaila) had a different approach on how to handle communications "is a fabrication".
Mapaila said Maleka was heading the research and policy unit.
"[To say Maleka was forcefully removed] is just unappreciative of his growth in the organisation. He is like a general dealer. He is like a jack of all trades. He is more effective when he is there [in research and policy]," Mapaila said. "People must not read anything into that."
In a statement, the party said Maleka would be deployed in a capacity that would benefit the organisation.