While other political parties are on the campaign trail ahead of the national elections, the ANC in Mpumalanga is at war with itself.

This became evident when a number of ANC branches marched to the party’s provincial headquarters, the Che January Masilela House in Mbombela, on Tuesday April 2.

They demanded answers about the suspension of the party’s provincial treasurer, Mandla Msibi, who was recently charged and suspended by his organisation on allegations that he had planned to organise a march to disrupt the ANC’s birthday celebrations on January 13.

The provincial secretary, Muzi Chirwa, has time and again avoided the media so as to not give clarity on the matter

When asked by Mpumalanga News again to shed light on the matter last week, following the sitting of the disciplinary committee, Chirwa only responded with an SMS saying that Msibi had not been expelled from the party as there were rumours going around that the ANC had reached a decision to expel him.

It has been two weeks now since the disciplinary committee sat, but there has been no communication as to whether they had reached a verdict or not.
And again, Chirwa could not be reached to respond as his phone kept on ringing unanswered.

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This publication has since been reliably informed that the ANC Provincial Executive Committee is divided on the matter. There is a faction that has already started purging other members ahead of the next provincial elective conference.

A senior member of the ANC who serves on the PEC told this publication that the ANC did not have a case against Msibi to begin with. “These charges were cooked up because Cde Mandla (Msibi) is now a target and a threat to others who are already eyeing second terms in office. How can you charge someone based on unfounded allegations that they had planned to sabotage the organisation. What we know for sure is that Cde Mandla was preparing for the burial service of his late brother who was buried on the same weekend the ANC celebrated its birthday at Mbombela Stadium,” said the PEC member.

The branches which took part in the protest on Tuesday accused Chirwa and some PEC members of dividing and killing the organisation.

“We are supposed to be campaigning and conducting door-to-door visits, but here we are fighting against a corrupt system that seeks to further divide the organisation. We are facing one of our toughest elections ever and we should be putting up a united front and pulling all resources together for a clean sweep, but as things stand we are nowhere near victory,” said Bafana Nkosi, an ANC zone B branch member.

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The ANC is already trailing behind with its election work. Other political parties are already way ahead with their campaigns and making inroads in areas previously known as ANC strongholds, such as the Nkomazi sub-region where former ANC regional leader, Ngrayi Ngwenya’s influence is working wonders for the Economic Freedom Fighters.

For the first time the ANC has lost a ward to the EFF in Nkomazi, a sign which shows a political shift. Neither Msibi nor Chirwa could not be reached for comment at the time going online.