Lekota fails to dump Shilowa

COPE president Mosiuoa Lekota failed in his attempt to suspend his deputy, Mbhazima Shilowa, from the party yesterday.

Lekota tried to get Shilowa suspended during a meeting of the central working committee of the party in Johannesburg, even though no formal charges or evidence in support of allegations of financial mismanagement of parliamentary funds were presented.

Though the central working committee does not have the power to suspend party members, at least three sources confirmed that Shilowa's suspension was discussed and agreed on by the committee members.

According to officials present at the meeting, Lekota said Shilowa should be suspended because he was "an obstacle to his [Lekota's] vision".

"They took the decision to suspend him, went into recess, caucused and then decided to withhold [the suspension]," said one official.

It is believed that Lekota and the others changed their minds about the suspension when they were told during a recess that they had no legal right to suspend Shilowa.

"They were advised to draw up terms of references for a forensic investigation before any suspension could be handed down."

Mluleki George, a supporter of Shilowa and a Cope MP, reportedly told Lekota that he himself had no recollection of Cope's vision.

"George told him that he has an agenda to sell Cope as cheap as possible," said the official.

Shilowa's proposed suspension will be discussed at a follow-up meeting at a date yet to be decided.

Said a member of the central working committee: "This is a power trip by Lekota and a definite vendetta against Shilowa. Someone has clearly lost the plot here."

Party spokesman Phillip Dexter, who also sits on the central working committee, denied that Shilowa's suspension was discussed.

George last night refused to discuss the issue, saying only that the outcome of the meeting was that Shilowa was still the deputy president and the party's parliamentary chief whip.

Lekota and Shilowa have been locked in a bitter leadership battle that has divided the party.

According to notes from the party's national committee meeting in Johannesburg earlier this month, Lekota lashed out at Shilowa, without naming him, accusing him of being a "liar".

Lekota earlier in the year said that he was instituting an internal investigation of allegations that Shilowa had misappropriated R20-million of party funds.