The ANC in the Western Cape and its former provincial secretary — who has since defected to the DA — are locked in a bitter dispute over a vehicle that was used for election campaigning.
The ANC has opened a case against Neville Delport, accusing him of using the vehicle unlawfully. Delport, however, has hit back, dismissing the allegations as baseless.
He insists he has never used the bakkie, saying it has been parked at a mechanic’s workshop for two months because it is broken. Delport said the ANC has failed to pay the R19,000 repair bill demanded by the mechanic.
He said he had opened a case of crimen injuria against the party’s provincial spokesperson, Sifiso Mtsweni, escalating the war of words between the two sides.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mtsweni said the party had opened a criminal case against Delport at the Piketberg police station. Mtsweni also provided a case number.
“The case relates to ANC property which is in Mr Delport’s possession and not returned to the organisation, even after he had defected to another political party,” said Mtsweni.
“In 2025, a sister ANC provincial leadership of the North West shared its branded ANC bakkie with the ANC Western Cape. This branded vehicle with fitted loudhailer sound capabilities was used for campaigns in various by-elections and was in the care of the then provincial secretary.”
Mtsweni said Delport defected from the ANC on November 5 and “since then has been in unlawful possession of the bakkie”.
“He has ignored repeated requests to return the bakkie to the ANC Western Cape,” he said.
“The ANC has been left with no choice but to open a criminal case against Mr Delport, whose nostalgia for the ANC has now become criminal to the point where he believes that assets belonging to the ANC are his personal acquisitions. We expect SAPS to deal with this matter urgently.”
Delport laughed off the allegations, dismissing them as “politics”. He said he did not need the vehicle as he owned three cars.
“I went to the police station yesterday to give my side of the story. The bakkie is not in my possession,” he said.
“After the ANC celebrations, while I was still the provincial secretary, the bakkie was left in the Boland with a mechanic. A quotation was sent to the ANC for repairs, and they did not pay. And suddenly they say I was spotted with the bakkie over the Christmas holidays.”
He said the vehicle is “not roadworthy, the licence expired in 2024”.
“How would I drive a bakkie with an expired licence through the Christmas season? The ANC refused to get a licence disc,” he said.
Delport said the ANC was still bitter and fighting after he left.
“I am with the DA now. I am working on election duties for the party. I left the ANC in November,” he said.
“I have never driven the bakkie. I have three cars registered in my name. I went to the police station yesterday and laid a crimen injuria case against Sifiso for saying in a statement that the bakkie is in my possession. He lied.”
On Thursday, Mtsweni said the vehicle was new when it was handed over to Delport’s branch in 2025, and that the former provincial secretary “has personally driven the vehicle and the ANC under him used it for by-elections”.
“We are not aware of the car being at the mechanic. Who took it there? Because it was not taken by the ANC to the mechanic, so there is no bill for the ANC,” said Mtsweni.
“It’s laughable that a former provincial secretary would want to open a case against a provincial spokesperson of a party for expressing the views of a collective.”
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