Mantashe slams Tokyo over Malema

A war of words has broken out between ANC heavyweights Gwede Mantashe and Tokyo Sexwale - further inflaming tensions in the party's leadership.

In the clearest indication yet that the divisions between senior ANC leaders are widening rapidly, Mantashe, the party's secretary-general, yesterday launched a blistering attack on Sexwale.

He accused the human settlements minister, who also serves on the ANC's powerful national executive committee, of "grandstanding" and of being petty.

Sexwale retaliated last night by "appealing" to Mantashe "to maintain his dignity as secretary-general of our organisation".

Mantashe's extraordinary public attack on a fellow NEC member came barely a day after Sexwale questioned Motlanthe and Justice Minister Jeff Radebe's interpretation of a recent ANC leadership decision.

At the centre of the latest war of words is a dossier compiled by Sexwale on the circumstances surrounding the booing of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema at an SA Communist Party congress in December.

The public spat is also part of a wider power struggle between the nationalists and communists in the ANC.

The nationalists, who include Malema and Sexwale, are said to be behind a campaign to remove Mantashe from his ANC post and replace him with Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula at the next national conference of the ruling party in 2012.

The Sexwale report is said to be critical of Mantashe, who is also national chairman of the Communist Party, and of NEC member and Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande.

In his report, Sexwale blames the two leaders for failing to condemn Malema's heckling by delegates at the Communist Party congress.

Though it was widely reported at the weekend that the Sexwale dossier was discussed at a recent NEC lekgotla, Mantashe and Radebe said on Monday that it had "no status" in the ANC, and that a new report would be drafted by everyone who had represented the party at the congress.

This angered Sexwale, who is said to have confronted Mantashe about the issue on Tuesday morning.

The ANC responded by issuing a statement "clarifying" the status of the Sexwale report. But the human settlements minister was not impressed and, later that evening, issued a statement in which he said that Radebe's claim that the report had "no status" was both "false and dubious".

An angry Mantashe then retaliated yesterday by issuing a statement in which he insisted that Sexwale's report was "never discussed by the NEC".

"It is very regrettable that some faceless people leaked this unprocessed document to the media for purposes and intentions only known to them," he said.

"We also want to state categorically that any statements and comments that deviate from the factual account, as put above, should be construed as nothing other than grandstanding," Mantashe said.

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu later told The Times that Luthuli House, the ANC head office, regarded Sexwale's press release as a "death statement".

"It is a fighting statement. Comrade Sexwale is fighting," said Mthembu.

He said party leaders felt it was "inappropriate" for Sexwale to release the statement, especially after the ANC had made its position clear.

"We do not think it was appropriate to release that kind of statement, vilifying people, when the ANC had explained itself.

"It is unfortunate that the secretary-general had to come out again to over-clarify a matter that had been clarified," Mthembu said.

He said the ANC was disturbed by the tone of Sexwale's statement.

"Sexwale should not have released that statement, especially in that language," Mthembu said.

But Sexwale shot back, accusing Mantashe of "trivialising" his concerns.

"It is unfortunate that Comrade Mantashe, who is at the centre of this controversy, chooses to trivialise a matter as important as the discussion that is coming before the national working committee and eventually the NEC.

"I can only appeal to him, under the circumstances, to try to maintain his dignity as secretary-general," Sexwale said.