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The ANC Women's League (ANCWL) has not taken kindly to suggestions by stalwarts, Barbara Hogan and Cheryl Carolus, that the ANC's national list contains names of "tsotsis".
Calling the women "patriarchal princesses", the league expressed outrage at their criticism of those who were on the list submitted to the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC).
In a statement, the ANCWL said it "recognises and appreciates the role played by Cheryl and Barbara in the struggle but will not remain silent when their uncontrollable hatred to some of our comrades makes them degenerate into being divisive counter-revolutionary elements".
It said it was "disturbing to see that the two rich patriarchal princesses have no interest in speaking on issues that affect women" and "the only thing they do is to speak against women leaders to impress patriarchy".
"South Africa must see them for who they are."
'Smalanyana skeletons'
The statement was made in response to a Times Live article in which Carolus and Hogan were said to have made the statements during a remembrance ceremony for the late ANC stalwart and struggle icon Ahmed Kathrada at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg.
Hogan, Kathrada's widow, joined the ANC in 1977 and was the first white woman to be charged with and convicted of treason during apartheid.
After her release from prison in 1990, she participated at Codesa and served the ANC and government in several capacities.
Carolus, a member of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation board and was one of the founding members of the United Democratic Front in the 1980s, was quoted saying that the foundation would escalate efforts to stop comrades "of smalanyana skeletons and frozen chickens" from getting into Parliament.
The statement was a rebuke of Minister of Women in the Presidency and ANCWL President Bathabile Dlamini who made the statement that all ANC national executive committee (NEC) members have "smalanyana skeletons".
It also refers to Minister of Environmental Affairs Nomvula Mokonyane, who was implicated in testimony at the state capture commission of inquiry as allegedly having accepted bribes of cash and frozen chicken.
The article went on to quote Carolus saying "when the list gets published, we as the foundation in our private capacities will try to shine a spotlight on those tsotsis who tried to steal the soul of this country for their own narrow interests".
Hogan added that "it is shocking to have people on lists who have lied to the Constitutional Court and yet still would, without shame, say "innocent until proven guilty".
'Divisive'
The Constitutional Court slammed Dlamini last year for her handling of the social grants debacle in which the livelihoods of millions of people were threatened.
The court said she was "reckless" and "grossly negligent" and instructed the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to consider perjury charges against her for lying under oath.
In response to Hogan and Carolus, the ANCWL stated that "it is unfortunate that they are trying to remote control the ANC process using a foundation named after the respectful stalwart of our revolution".
"The board of the foundation must condemn these tendencies of using the activities of the foundation to settle personal scores and spewing bile. Once and for all, the ANC leadership must also call to order any reckless and divisive element hiding behind a title of veteran or using structures like foundations to attack other comrades of our movement."
"Cheryl and Barbara's led alliance is divisive. Exaggeration of self-importance and self-aggrandisement, should not lead Cheryl and Barbara to think that if they are not in the ANC NEC, then the ANC is leaderless," the league continued.
"Cheryl and Barbara are not immune from being condemned when they are becoming disruptive and factional. We will be watching closely any factional attempt to frustrate, humiliate and attack the president of the ANCWL by desperate people who are calculative in trying to advance divisions and weaken the ANC and its leagues."
