Emotions ran high in Kenton-on-Sea yesterday when ANC supporters tried to get an elderly man to remove a T-shirt with the image of rival independent candidate Zache Ngxingo on it.
Things almost turned nasty when staunch ANC supporter Zola Xinase, a friend of locally born Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti, tried to prevent Ngxingo from intervening in the standoff.
Xinase then swore at and scuffled with journalists - despite being disabled and on crutches - before getting into his car and speeding off.
The one-time ANC stronghold has been the scene of many standoffs between former comrades, who split last year when Ngxingo decided to go it alone in a municipal by-election after he was ignored by regional leaders.
He won the election battle against Nkwinti ally Nomachina Zweni, who he claimed had benefited from an allegedly corrupt farm redistribution land deal because of her closeness to the former Eastern Cape MEC.
Billed the "peoples' candidate", Ngxingo's arrival on the political landscape as an "independent ANC member" had split the community.
Local teenager Sam Breakfast, who witnessed the scuffle, said people who supported the ANC now had another choice.
Selling himself as a candidate who subscribed to the ideals of Nelson Mandela's ANC in the 1990s, Ngxingo said he enjoyed widespread support because residents were "sick and tired of empty promises".
"People who have never voted before are making their mark . They are tired of this new hybrid ANC where everybody wants to get to the top of the ladder at the expense of the people who voted for them."
Ngxingo said his "independent" ANC faction had gone "from strength to strength" despite attempts "to threaten and intimidate my supporters".
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