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The blow of KwaZulu-Natal ANC's failure to win a seat in the top seven structure of the party may have been accepted by the provincial leadership, but some of their delegates were on Monday battling to come to terms with the results.
KwaZulu Natal’s campaign to remove President Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC leader in favour of Dr Zwelini Mkhize crumbled dismally on Monday, bringing back painful memories of how they lost to the same man in the first round that played out in 2017.
At the start of the Nasrec conference, some of the KwaZulu-Natal delegates were already determined to disrupt the ANC president’s organisational report as they heckled him and national chairperson Gwede Mantashe. Their actions were accentuated by former president Jacob Zuma, who deliberately waltzed into the conference while Ramaphosa had already begun his speech. But it was clear from the onset that they were isolated, and their rowdiness was contained by their leaders.
Suffice it to say, even with the noise from KwaZulu-Natal, it was a house divided as some delegates told City Press that they wouldn’t vote for Dr Mkhize. Some of the Gauteng provincial executive members, including Lebogang Maile and party spokesperson Pule Mabe, expressed support for Mkhize.
By Monday, much of the noise and confidence displayed ahead of voting and during the voting process had fizzled out. It was clear things had fallen apart at the seams and some sombre-looking KwaZulu-Natal delegates were heard spewing profanities after the results were announced. Dr Mkhize lost by over 500 votes to the incumbent.
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Some of the KwaZulu-Natal delegates were not happy with Paul Mashatile’s election as deputy president despite him being on Dr Mkhize’s slate.
A few delegates who spoke to City Press from KwaZulu-Natal believed something untoward happened as they couldn’t believe that their candidates didn’t make it, following so much confidence they had expressed when the conference started.
One delegate said:
"I will never support this new leadership; I will not vote for the ANC under this leadership. The ANC is dead," she said.
Another delegate from KwaZulu-Natal also expressed disgruntlement about Cyril Ramaphosa’s re-election:
However, another delegate said: "This is part of democracy."
