Two ANC Johannesburg region members have been involved in an alcohol-fuelled brawl that led to a bloody affair, caused by a difference in opinion concerning their upcoming elective conference.
Her comrade, Palesa Sebiloane, struck ANCYL regional executive committee member Phindile Maphanga with a porcelain plate on Thursday, May 22, at Capello in Gandhi Square.
“The conversation deteriorated, and the next thing I knew, I was being hit. I did not see the plate, I just saw blood flowing down my face. Then I was rushed to the hospital,” Maphanga told Sunday World.
She then laid charges against Sebiloane, who was arrested and later released on bail.
Maphanga, along with Sebiloane, was among the ANCYL members who were invited to a dinner hosted by the regional treasurer of the league after a formal meeting at Connie Bapela House in downtown Jozi.
“There are ANC conferences which are set to happen, and obviously, the environment was hostile.
“There are two factional groupings in Johannesburg. They are fighting for positions; one would be for Dada Morero and the other for Loyiso Masuku.”
This is where the discussion about Sebiloane possibly running for the regional executive position of the mother body comes in, since she will be reaching the youth league age limit.
Maphanga says the conversation became heated, which led to the altercation. “So, it was in good faith because I was saying she must contest for the REC, and she did not take kindly to that. It was a back-and-forth and factional views about who I am supporting,” she said.
She has since reported the matter to the police and the ANC leadership.
ANC Johannesburg regional secretary Sasabona Manganye told Sunday World that he was aware of the altercation and would deal with it accordingly. He, however, sets the record straight about the dinner not being an “ANC gathering”.
He refuted claims that the fight had anything to do with leadership preferences and should not be linked to the region’s upcoming conference, where incumbent Morero is expected to contest member of the mayoral committee, Masuku.
“I can confirm that they are both members of the ANC. It is people who meet in a liquor space and decide to discuss politics in an environment which is not conducive. You will never have an ANC meeting which will be held in a liquor space; it is a violation of the ANC constitution.”
The matter will be discussed by the Johannesburg regional leadership this coming week. The ANCYL is expected to weigh in on how the matter should be handled.
“We have not engaged that complaint. We are meeting on Monday, and of course, where there is preliminary evidence, we will write to the province to ask for permission to discipline those who are involved,” he said.
In a letter written to Manganye by Maphanga, she mentions that Siblioane’s actions constitute a criminal offence, as they caused grievous bodily harm.
She also mentions that the offence is in breach of the ANC constitution, section 25.17.15, setting out that “fighting, assaulting another member or behaving in a disorderly or unruly manner at ANC meetings, assemblies or gatherings and/or disrupting meetings and interfering with the orderly functioning of the ANC” constitutes misconduct.
“I therefore request that you kindly look into the matter and administer the requisite procedural justice according to the ANC’s disciplinary processes,” it reads.
Sunday World could not get hold of Sebiloane at the time of publishing.
