No action taken against Lesufi because ANC ‘scared of losing him’

Luthuli House let Gauteng ANC provincial chair Panyaza Lesufi off the hook because it is scared of losing him and the province to Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) if they disciplined him over his anti-GNU stance.

The party’s top seven national officials did not support secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s recommendation to rein in Lesufi as they feared a possible rebellion and even a break-up by Gauteng – about 18 months before the 2026 local government elections, said an ANC insider.

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Lesufi could go to MK if provoked

The main concern was the possibility that Zuma could take advantage of the situation as he looked for every opportunity to recruit senior ANC members to join his new party in his campaign to kill the ANC piece by piece.

According to the ANC source, there was a mooted move by Luthuli House to disband the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive committees, ostensible on the basis of their poor electoral performances after the May national and provincial elections.

Lesufi, along with his KwaZulu-Natal counterpart, Sboniso Duma, and provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo were hauled before the party’s top seven last week.

But Lesufi allegedly turned the tables and managed to convince the national office bearers of the dire risks of having the DA as a partner in Gauteng, where the ANC’s power was hanging by a thin thread at 34.76% against the DA’s 27.44% at the last election.

Rather than follow in the footsteps of the government of national unity and choose the DA as the second main partner in the coalition, Gauteng opted for Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Rise Mzansi.

Lesufi’s refusal to accommodate the DA in his executive council was seen as a defiance of the national executive committee resolution to cooperate with the DA in the government of national unity (GNU).

Another insider said Lesufi had been emboldened by the fact that Gauteng had become a new kingmaker in the ANC elections and the NEC feared losing the province if it disciplined him.

“Lesufi is calculating; he knows he has power and the leadership would listen to him because he holds the trump card in this game. That’s why they let him off,” the source said.

ALSO READ: Lesufi’s defiance raises tensions in ANC leadership

Leaders go with Lesufi ‘even if they know that Mbalula is right’

Lesufi’s explanation was so convincing it made sense to the top seven – President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy-President Paul Mashatile, national chair Gwede Mantashe, Mbalula, deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane, second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa and treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa.

“It’s not about embarrassing Mbalula; it’s about numbers that Lesufi has as a province.

“Our leaders think about their own election in future. They would rather sacrifice Mbalula and go with Lesufi, even if they know that Mbalula is right,” the source said.

The ANC did not respond to questions sent to its office yesterday. However, on Sunday, Mbalula sounded a strong warning to Lesufi during a interview on eNCA.

“If he [Lesufi] thinks he will run a campaign against the secretary-general of the ANC, he must mind his steps because we will act. We will never tolerate rogueness in the ANC.

“If he has decided to run a campaign against me, defacing the secretary-general of the ANC and doing so perpetually, despite the fact that we are engaging politically and have settled matters, we will have to see how to get around that,” an irate Mbalula said.

“We will never allow anarchy because we are running an organisation and our management of the organisation is informed by the principles of democratic centralism.

“Democratic centralism dictates that when a decision is taken by the upper structures, the lower structures follow in line,” said Mbalula.

The ANC dropped to 34.76% in the May election (down from 50.19 in 2019), while the DA retained its position at 27.44% – and this was believed to be giving Lesufi sleepless nights.

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