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Former ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Senzo Mchunu must account for the irregularities in the run-up to the conference which saw him ousted from his position in favour of the incumbent Sihle Zikalala.
This was the call made by Zikalala when he addressed hundreds of his supporters outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court today on day one of the court case which will decide whether or not the provincial executive committee which he leads is legitimate or not.
Speaking on arguments made in court that branches did not have enough time for the conference amongst other alleged irregularities, Zikalala – who was provincial secretary at the time – said that he and Mchunu must be called to account.
“What is happening inside there (the court) is known best by the provincial executive committee (PEC) that came before the current one. If we must talk about people who know about the sitting of the BGMs (branch general meeting) in the run up to the conference and the conference itself, people in the PEC at the time must account. In particular the chairperson and the secretary of that time. If this court wants to hear exactly what happened during that time, Sihle Zikalala who was secretary at the time, and Senzo Mchunu who was chair at the time, must come and account,” he said.
“We are not worried, we know what happened from the beginning to the end. The only bad luck we have is that people who said we must call the conference are the ones who are now asking why we called the conference. Why did they call for a conference if they could not deal with the consequences?”
Mchunu, who was replaced by Zikalala, was also recalled from his position as premier after the conference. He and other officials who were purged have not joined the case as interested parties.
However, applicants in the case are those who aligned themselves with him, and are also supported by members of the South African Communist Party who were disgruntled with the removal of their eThekwini chairperson James Nxumalo.
Mchunu was offered a position as a Member of Parliament by way of concession, but he refused the offer, opting to go back to his home branch in Empangeni as an ordinary member.
Mchunu has now been touted for the position of secretary-general when the ANC goes to the national elective conference in December which will pick President Jacob Zuma’s successor along with other officials and members of the national executive committee.
It’s understood that there are talks to include him on the slate of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa who is gunning for the top job. Mchunu has publicly pronounced his support for Ramaphosa.
Zikalala said the recurring act of taking the ANC to court over conference outcomes was motivated by self-interest.
“We got here because we told ourselves it is about us. We must know as members of the ANC that the ANC does not join us, we join it. So let it not be that when our interests do not win, we then take the ANC to court.”
The chairperson said he was eager for a chance to hear how events unfolded in the run up to the November 2015 conference from those who were involved.
“I hope that one day judges will call for oral evidence; those who were there must come and answer one by one.”
Zikalala reiterated that courts could not make final calls for the organisation no matter how many times members opted for the legal route.
“Issues of the ANC will never be solved by the courts. Irrespective of what is the judgment, the comrades who have taken the ANC to court, they must sit down with us so we can unite the ANC.”
