Supra believes druglords and prison inmates tried to kill him – report

The Mail & Guardian reported on Thursday that embattled North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo believes his life is in danger, according to ANC insiders.

The premier has faced two weeks of protests and calls for his removal amid allegations of major corruption and suspicions about his closeness to the controversial Gupta family.

The group leading the protests in North West is known as the Revolutionary Council, which gave an ultimatum to President Cyril Ramaphosa to have the premier removed.

However, only the ANC’s national executive committee has the power to recall a senior state functionary.

The report claims Mahumapelo told a meeting of senior party leaders on Tuesday at ANC headquarters Luthuli House that there had been attempts on his life from the Revolutionary Council and that “embittered ANC comrades fighting for economic resources and positions were behind the attacks on his office”. He again alleged that his ANC detractors and the EFF had been “colluding” against him in the province.

He apparently went as far as to say that “druglords and prison inmates” had been used to attack him.

On Wednesday, the ANC leadership in various North West regions blamed disgruntled party members and alliance partners for the violent protests that have left a trail of destruction since last week.

According to the regional leaders, the Revolutionary Council, the same group that previously called itself the North West Business Forum or self-liberators or the Phakama Brigade, was behind the violent protests.

The leadership said the Revolutionary Council had supported Ramaphosa during his election campaign.

The council, the leaders said, was composed of former and current MECs, MPs, MPLs, some provincial executive committee members, members of the former provincial task team who formed the ANC’s provincial leadership in 2009 until early 2011, some members of the regional executive committee and the regional task team, pockets of the ANCYL, most of whom are over the age of 35, members of the veterans league, the SACP, Cosatu, a certain clique of Sanco members, some current and former HODs, municipal managers and members of the business fraternity.

The regional leadership described the Revolutionary Council as a coalition of “the wounded” who resorted to fighting if nothing “goes their way”.

It said this group had an agenda to enforce regime change so as to clear the path for members of the group to ascend to power.

The council’s programme of action entails closing strategic roads, destabilising provincial governments, departments and municipalities to create an impression that Mahumapelo is an incapable premier, the regional leaders said.

They further claimed the pursuit of regime change was a national programme that was targeting certain provinces – North West, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal – and senior ANC leaders who were pro-radical economic transformation, who they said threatened white monopoly capital.

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At the press briefing, the regional leaders said the premier, as the ANC provincial chairperson, had tabled a report to the party’s PEC on all corruption cases, including those in which he was accused.

They added Mahumapelo further briefed the PEC on a progress report on 29 forensic investigations reports and that all that augured well for the party’s regions, which were happy with the reports the premier tabled, and therefore supported his commitment and endeavours to fight crime and corruption in North West.

The regions said they did not support the call for Mahumapelo to step down as the premier because he had performed well, adding that Cosatu, SACP and opposition parties were being malicious and misinformed when levelling allegations of corruption against the premier and calling for his resignation.