Cape Town — The spat between Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has led to internal tensions within the party.
Mbalula efforts to get Lesufi disciplined by having him appear before the party’s national committee over his comments made over the Government of National Unity (GNU) fell flat after the secretary general was not supported by the party’s top officials.
According to an ANC insider, the party’s top seven officials feared that there may be a possible rebellion and a break-up in Gauteng ahead of the 2026 elections, with fears that Zuma could poach some senior ANC members to kill the party off, The Citizen reported.
Lesufi, along with his Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) counterpart, Siboniso Duma, appeared before the party’s top seven last week, to discuss the party’s poor electoral performances in the respective provinces.
Lesufi managed to convince officials of the consequences of partnering with the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng and chose not to follow in the footsteps of the GNU by having the DA as a second partner.
Instead, Lesufi chose the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Rise Mzansi as coalition partners, an act that was seen as a defiance of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Another insider said Lesufi was encouraged that Gauteng had been the new kingmaker in the ANC elections and the NEC feared losing the province if he was disciplined.
[WATCH] ANC first deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane answers a question on whether, as officials of the party, are they not worried about the utterances of secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, especially when it comes to Gauteng chairperson Panyaza Lesufi. “The ANC had an… pic.twitter.com/aCq0dKoyRf
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) October 14, 2024
Lesufi’s explanation was so convincing it made sense to the top seven – President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy-President Paul Mashatile, national chair Gwede Mantashe, Mbalula, deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane, second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa and treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa.
“Our leaders think about their election in future. They would rather sacrifice Mbalula and go with Lesufi, even if they know that Mbalula is right,” the source said.
However, on Sunday, Mbalula sounded a strong warning to Lesufi during an interview on eNCA.
“If he [Lesufi] thinks he will run a campaign against the secretary-general of the ANC, he must mind his steps because we will act. We will never tolerate rogueness in the ANC.
“If he has decided to run a campaign against me, defacing the secretary-general of the ANC and doing so perpetually, even though we are engaging politically and have settled matters, we will have to see how to get around that,” an irate Mbalula said.
“We will never allow anarchy because we are running an organisation and our management of the organisation is informed by the principles of democratic centralism.
“Democratic centralism dictates that when a decision is taken by the upper structures, the lower structures follow in line,” said Mbalula.
The ANC says it is not concerned over an alleged rift between the party’s Gauteng chairperson, Panyaza Lesufi and secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula. Here is what ANC first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane had to say. #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/MOv1fonU2Z
— eNCA (@eNCA) October 14, 2024
According to TimesLIVE, the spat between Mbalula and Lesufi resulted in a silent demonstration outside Luthuli House on Monday as the ANC celebrated 100 days of the GNU.
As Mbalula addressed the crowds and called for the national anthem to be sung, he was greeted with chants from Lesufi supporters.
“Don’t kill Chris Hani again” and “We are Panyaza Lesufi, Panyaza Lesufi is us”. Were the chants.
Mbalula asked demonstrators to stop and accused them of trying to ruin the event.
“There are some of you here trying to ruin our event. Panyaza is the chairperson of the ANC, he is our chairperson. Don’t be mischievous here, otherwise you will face disciplinary action. I can see you disturbing us, raising silly placards,” he said.
Lesufi also condemned the demonstrators for their actions when he took to the podium to kick-start the event.
WATCH: Clearly, the battle lines are drawn. It’s Panyaza Lesufi vs Fikile Mbalula in the ANC. pic.twitter.com/cxDH3yGAld
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) October 15, 2024
“As we celebrate this milestone of establishing a government of national unity, we must be wary of those that are doing wrong things. Comrade SG [Mbalula] was right, it must not be in our name that we undermine the leadership of this movement,” he said.
“It must not be in our name that we want to define ourselves outside the leadership of the ANC. We are under the leadership of the ANC and our national office bearers provide that particular leadership. We must respect that, comrades,” he added.
Lesufi said it was the task of the ANC to take stock of the 100 days of the GNY and to thank the government for guiding South Africa through such a difficult period.
“On behalf of the membership of the ANC in Gauteng, let’s give them a round of applause for the tasks they have done,” he said.
Mbalula claimed that the leadership of the party was left in his hands and that he was the one who governs Luthuli House, along with deputy SG, Nomvula Mokonyane.
Concluding his keynote address ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa took a jab at Mbalula, saying: “I hear Mbalula saying he is in charge of the party’s headquarters. It is the ANC that is leading at Luthuli.”
“Viva Panyaza Viva! President Cyril Ramaphosa has left me in charge of Luthuli House. Nomvula and I are in charge here, and TG is fixing the finances.” – ANC SG Fikile Mbalula
“Here in Luthuli House, where Mbaks says he is in charge, Woo, Mbaks, you say you are in charge, but it… pic.twitter.com/udouIgjP26
— News Live SA (@newslivesa) October 14, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
