‘Hands off our chairman’: Supporters of suspended Free State mayor Tseletsele defy ANCYL

Suspended Kopanong mayor Xolani Tseletsele’s supporters are preparing to protest outside the Free State ANC office in Bloemfontein, defying the ANCYL directive to allow party processes to be completed.

Members of the ANCYL and the Free State Young Communist League of SA (YCLSA) in the province have rallied behind Tseletsele after his fall from grace last week.

His party suspended him for threatening local resident Lekabe Lekabe at his Jagersfontein home.

The incident was caught on video and went viral, prompting ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula to announce an immediate suspension.

Tseletsele is also the provincial chairperson of the ANCYL and deputy secretary of the Free State YCLSA, and seemingly commands support among the youth, especially in his region of Xhariep.

His support base is of the view that the elderly in the ANC are on a mission to “sabotage” young and upcoming leaders whom they do not get along with, such as Tseletsele.

His disciplinary hearing is expected to sit on Friday at the Kaizer Sebothelo provincial office.

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Close friend drums for support

The campaign to have Tseletsele reinstated started in Xhariep, despite the recent disbandment of the regional ANCYL.

Leading the charge is his close friend Mncedisi Bokwa, seen in the video accompanying Tseletsele.

Bokwa wrote on his Facebook page: “Join Jagersfontein people on Friday when they defend one of their own, we are just saying it’s human to err.

“Xolani Tseletsele is not a convicted criminal.”

READ MORE: Mayor’s suspension without a hearing ‘grossly harsh’, says SACP

Another post reads: “This is no longer the ANC of Tambo and Chris Hani. This is not about Tseletsele in the final analysis.

“It’s an attack against young people who are making serious inroads politically against the conventional narrative. Young people that our beautiful struggle needs.”

ANCYL condemns the ‘ill-discipline’

National spokesperson for the ANCYL Zama Khanyase said her organisation did not give the green light for a protest.

She said the ANCYL national office told the province that he [Tseletsele] should go through the party processes.

“We are still awaiting the outcome of that process, we have not sanctioned a march to the provincial office.

“We do not have a conclusive confirmation as to who is behind the march. A march would be a high level of ill-discipline by the comrades concerned,” Khanyase said.

Any ANCYL member who participates in the planned protest will face disciplinary processes, she added.

Meanwhile, Kopanong Local Municipality is yet to appoint an acting mayor after Tseletsele’s suspension.

A source in the municipality told The Citizen that council has not sat for weeks.

“Only committees have been sitting. Full council could sit next week, but as things stand, there’s no planned agenda or schedule to elect an acting mayor,” said the insider.

After the suspension, several municipal officials held a community meeting a day after Mbalula’s announcement, but nothing was said about a possible replacement, the source said.

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