Lekota claims former Tshwane mayor sent people to attack Cope leaders (VIDEO)

Congress of the People (Cope) leader Mosiuoa Lekota has accused the late former mayor of the City of Tshwane, Murunwa Makwarela, of sending his relatives to come and attack him and other leaders.

Cope infighting

The video of the attack went viral on social media.

According to Lekota, there were rogue elements inside the party that wanted to boot him out of the leadership seat because of his struggles with cancer.

He said Makwarela was not the only one who tried removing him from his leadership role – pointing his finger at some of the top leaders who formed part of the national structure.

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Lekota was speaking in an interview with The Citizen’s politics podcast ‘The Movement’.

Still hope for Cope?

He said he believed Cope could still do well in the upcoming elections despite poor voter confidence and reputational damage due to infighting.

In the interview, Lekota also explained the party’s decision to fire former Johannesburg Speaker Colleen Makhubele and how he found out about the registration of the South African Rainbow Alliance (SARA) as a political party.

Lekota said should Cope not perform well in the elections, he would not give up on the party and return to the ANC.

ANC’s Polokwane conference

Meanwhile, Lekota also spoke about the formation of Cope and how the ANC’s Polokwane conference was a turning point in South African politics.

He said he had the support of top leaders in the ANC, such as Thabo Mbeki, when he formed Cope.

According to Lekota, Cope is the right party to lead South Africa because it is still rooted in the Freedom Charter which paints a picture of what different progressive parties of the past wanted South Africa to be.

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Lekota also spoke about his time as Defence Minister and his thoughts on what went wrong with the ANC.

Watch the interview with Cope’s Mosiuoa Lekota here: