ANC purges show where power lies

Now that he has finally been expelled from the ANC, Carl Niehaus will at least not be able to blame it on apartheid (unless he believes his party leaders are the puppets of the “Stellenbosch Mafia”) and nor will he be able to cry: “Racism!”

It is bizarre, it must be said, that the expulsion of Niehaus for bringing the ANC into “disrepute” was more than unfortunate for him, given that there are scores of party leaders who daily bring their organisation into disrepute. Maybe that is how the ANC rolls… But, we digress.

The timing of the bulleting of the supposed uMkhonto we Sizwe veteran is not happenstance. Much as our country is run most of the time by chaotic and illogical decisions by the ANC, when it comes to party politics, a Stalinist type of brutal efficiency and logic is clearly visible.

ALSO READ: Ta-ta, Carl: ANC expels Niehaus for good

Niehaus is the third of the critics of President Cyril Ramaphosa to be summarily dealt with in the past week.

First, it was former social welfare minister Bathabile Dlamini, who was informed she was no longer eligible to stand for election as a member of the ANC’s national executive committee… because she was convicted of perjury.

Then came convicted fraudster Tony Yengeni, who was given a similar message. They were, however, not ejected from the party, as was Niehaus who was by far the most vocal in the media.

The moves against the three will have shown that the faction loyal to Ramaphosa is the one calling the shots.

His opponents in the radical economic transformation (RET) faction, loosely gathering around former president Jacob Zuma, have been backpedalling for some weeks now – despite the attempts to pressure Ramaphosa on the Phala Phala saga.

ALSO READ: ‘Shame, start your own party’: SA responds to Carl Niehaus’ expulsion

Those sitting on the fence ahead of this week’s elective conference now know where the power really lies.