The ANC West Rand region held an elective conference on Monday and Tuesday to elect new leadership.
New regional leadership that was elected included William Matsheke as chairperson (mayor of Rand West), Lucky Sele as deputy chairperson (mayor of Mogale City), Mkhuseli Jokazi as the regional secretary, and Mcebisi Moyeni (Merafong MMC for finance) as a deputy secretary with Nozuko Best (Merafong City mayor) as treasurer.
Factional strife
The elections came after much drama that unfolded weeks before, as there were challenges from two warring factions, which resulted in the conference being halted after disputes arose.
The chaos escalated to the provincial task team (PTT) in Gauteng and nationally in the office of the ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula.
At one stage a few weeks back, Mbalula had given his blessings for the conference to continue despite the dispute raised. However, his go-ahead was shot down by the PTT led by the Gauteng provincial coordinator, Hope Papo, who declared that the conference would not continue.
This also led to the other faction that wanted their disagreements to be attended to ending up heading to the Johannesburg High Court on an urgent basis, raising concerns over disputes regarding ANC branches, where general branch meetings (BGMs) verification processes and organisational irregularities were questioned.
Legal battles
In court papers filed by 15 disgruntled ANC members in the West Rand as applicants filing an urgent application against first respondent Mbalula as ANC secretary-general and the PTT as second respondent, they stated the disputes existed before the conference dates were finally confirmed.
Through their lawyers, the applicants allege that on April 19, the regional executive committee (REC) met and discussed, among other things, disputes related to QR-Codes, branch packages, branch disputes and conference readiness, and that the REC concluded that the region was not ready for conference.
“The applicants further allege that a ‘final verification report’ had already been issued on 12 April 2026 and that certain BGMs thereafter took place outside the prescribed timelines.
“On 5 May 2026, the first respondent [Mbalula] issued a directive recording that the region had attained the threshold and directing that the conference proceed within the preriod 17-22 May 2026. The applicants, therefor, apart from their knowledge of the said disputes, knew, at least by 5 May 2026, that the conference would imminently proceed,” reads court papers.
However, on Sunday, the Johannesburg High Court acting judge, C Carelse struck the urgent application from the roll, citing lack of urgency.
- The ANC West Rand region held an elective conference to choose new leadership, electing William Matsheke as chairperson and others to key positions.
- The conference was preceded by factional disputes that caused disruptions and delays, involving two opposing factions within the region.
- Provincial and national ANC bodies, including secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and the Gauteng provincial task team (PTT), were involved in attempts to manage the conflict.
- Disgruntled members filed an urgent court application challenging the conference proceedings, citing branch disputes, irregularities, and improper verification processes.
- The Johannesburg High Court dismissed the urgent application due to lack of urgency, allowing the conference results to stand.
New regional leadership that was elected included William
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In court papers filed by 15 disgruntled ANC members in the West
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