Former ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo dug his own grave with a series of defiant acts that irked ANC national officials and national working committee (NWC) members.
Mtolo, who has since been demoted to an ordinary member of the newly appointed KZN provincial task team (PTT), was too rogue to retain, according to senior ANC national leaders.
According to the national leaders, Mtolo could not be saved because he refused
even the most well-meaning advice from his seniors.
It all started with the suggestion that Mike Mabuyakhulu be appointed to assist the KZN provincial executive committee (PEC) with its election strategy and campaign ahead of the May 2024 elections. Mtolo shot down this suggestion.
“He was so arrogant about it he did one of his notorious social media videos making fun of a progressive and well-meaning suggestion, which could have avoided the electoral bloodbath that we experienced in May 2024,” said an NWC leader.
“Now you tell me how any sober person can sympathise with such a character who behaves like he is Mr Know-it-All.”
Another leader in the NWC said Mtolo’s second defiance act was when he rejected an intervention to deploy the ANC national assembly caucus to the province.
“He arrogantly said they were doing fine; they did not need to be babysat or held by MPs.”
When the caucus was deployed nonetheless, said the leader, the visit to KZN was a flop because Mtolo had not prepared the ground for the MPs.
As if that was not enough, Mtolo was still in denial post-election defeat, which many national leaders feel was in part because of his wayward and reckless leadership style.
His denialism came in the form of a report he compiled about why the ANC had been annihilated by the newly established MKP in the province.
It was in that report that was presented at a PEC Imbizo attended by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa that Mtolo attributed the loss to MKP leader Jacob Zuma’s popularity and proximity to the AmaZulu royal house and the Nazareth Baptist Church (Shembe).
When Ramaphosa got agitated by the report, which he termed a misguided praise for Zuma, and ordered its immediate destruction and imposed a gag order on its contents, Mtolo remained defiant and spoke of its contents at cadre forums, such as one he addressed at the General Gizenga region.
“Not only did he go on to speak about what he was told not to do, but he also sought to shift the blame for his shortcomings to national leadership, which was uncalled for.
“That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The man is unrepentant, and even the SG (Fikile Mbalula), who historically aligned with Mtolo, could not do anything to save him,” said another NWC leader.
“Those are the incidents that informed the NWC’s damning report on the KZN PEC, which brought about the NEC decision for the reconfiguration of the PEC to what is now the PTT, where Mtolo has been relegated into insignificance.”
Another senior leader said the strings of “embarrassing” public stunts that Mtolo and his then provincial chairperson, Siboniso Duma, brought to the ANC were too costly to ignore.
Duma himself was demoted, albeit not as badly as Mtolo, as he returned in the new PTT as second deputy provincial convenor.
“These chaps were just too chaotic. Mtolo dug his own grave,” said the comrade.
Mtolo could not be reached for comment at the time of writing.
