Mistrust and tension have engulfed the ANC eThekwini regional elective conference, which has faced several delays.
Branch members have said the killings of branch leaders seen as vocal supporters of the two factions have created an atmosphere of fear.
“We come from a bloody past where people were killed leading up to the regional conferences. Three SACP members were gunned down in Intshangwe, purportedly for supporting James Nxumalo to become eThekwini chairperson. We believe these killings follow the same modus operandi,” said Sibonelo Shazi, a branch member of ward 82 in Umlazi.
Nxumalo is the chairperson of the SACP in the province. In 2015, he challenged Zandile Gumede for the role of chairperson of the region.
The conference had to be reconvened three times after a faction aligned with Gumede did not concede defeat, prompting party president at the time, Jacob Zuma, and then ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe to intervene.
Gumede, a long-time ally of Zuma, was subsequently declared the winner after voting delegates supporting Nxumalo boycotted the third installment of the conference. Leading up to it, there were reported attacks, threats, and deaths of those believed to be aligned to Nxumalo.
Another branch member, Nkululeko Mnyandu, said the killing of Umlazi township (ward 82) branch secretary Thulani Shusha sent shockwaves through the branch. “His killers were never found and we do not know who might be next. It’s clear that the killing was politically motivated,” he said.
Shusha was gunned down in February. About three-branch leaders have been killed since January.
ANC KZN spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela declined to comment on the tensions, instead of saying the region is ready for its conference. “We were dealing with auditing branches, which has now been finalised. We are confident it will convene in the coming week.”
The eThekwini region is the ANC’s biggest voting bloc and has over the years enjoyed kingmaker status. This time the region is divided into two factions, the so-called radical economic transformation forces supporting the re-election of Gumede and the Cyril Ramaphosa-
aligned faction backing municipal speaker Thabani Nyawose for chairperson.
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