Inside ANC’s multi-million election ‘propaganda machine’

The African National Congress reportedly planned to spend R50 million on a covert campaign targeting opposition parties in order to “disempower DA and EFF campaigns” during last year’s local government elections.

According to a report from amaBhungane on Tuesday, this emerged after a case was brought against the governing party by public relations expert Sihle Bolani, who claims she is owed R2.2 million for work done as part of the ANC’s covert election team initially known as the War Room and which later became the “Media Advisory Team”.

On Tuesday Bolani, owner of Sihle Bolani Communications, applied for an urgent court application at the Johannesburg High Court asking the court to order the ANC to pay her company R2.2 million for the services she had rendered to the party.

Her application was struck from the court roll with costs after Judge Leonie Windell said she failed to provide reasons why the court should divert from its ordinary course and treat her application on an urgent basis.

Bolani represented her company after saying she could not afford to pay lawyers.

‘Influencers’ online, fake opposition party posters

Damning court papers filed at court, seen by investigative reporters, apparently show that the secretive group was set up as pro-ANC agenda machinery ahead of the toughest local polls since the country’s democratic history, and planning to use a range of media, without revealing the ANC’s hand.

“For the War Room this included a seemingly independent news site and chat show, using ‘influencers’ on social media, and planning to print fake opposition party posters,” the report states.

However, the undercover operation by the ANC seemingly failed due to mismanagement and a lack of funding, according to a scathing close-out report attached to the court application, which claims the initiatives were either short-lived or stillborn.

ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa last week denied the allegations to amaBhungane, saying their “investigation has no basis and is based on malicious falsehoods and gossip”.

Although Bolani’s court documents suggest otherwise.

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As a key member of the War Room, she allegedly signed a R1 million settlement agreement with ANC general manager Ignatius Jacobs in early December, but is now she is demanding the full amount as she has still not been paid.

The agreement is attached to the court papers and also appears on an ANC letterhead.

Jacobs and the Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe were apparently also wrote (with the close-out report included) to Bolani in November. But the ANC denies that the War Room existed.

It is alleged that officially the Media Advisory Team (War Room) was not supposed to be linked to the ruling party and operate from separate offices.

It was also suppose to be led by ANC activist Shaka Sisulu, with ANC-linked businessman Joseph Nkadimeng securing funds from private donors. Both men have been accused of telling team members at their first meeting last April that “the ANC has commissioned this project as part of the 2016 Municipal Elections”.

“A lot of the work they needed us to do they didn’t want it to be branded ANC … I think the intention with this vehicle was to do all the stuff that they can’t do as the ANC. So I think the directive from Ignatius [Jacobs] was ‘go crazy just don’t link us [to it],” Bolani told amaBhungane in an interview.