ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula wants the police to investigate the outcomes of the party’s Johannesburg regional conference at which his ally, Dada Morero, lost the region’s top leadership position to Loyiso Masuku.
The Sunday Times can reveal that Mbalula has instructed ANC leaders in Gauteng to hand over all conference-related material to the police to probe alleged irregularities at the three-day conference, held in Johannesburg in December 2025.
In a letter dated December 28, Mbalula informs Gauteng provincial task team co-ordinator (PTT) Hope Papo of disputes reported to his office over what allegedly transpired at the conference.
These include claims that the announced results did not match the raw data; allegations that candidate lists were altered; concerns about the conduct of the agency that administered the electoral process; how that agency was appointed; and alleged conflicts of interest between PTT members and the elections agency.
Mbalula says that some of the allegations suggest discrepancies in the actual number of votes received by candidates.
“In light of the above, the PTT is directed to facilitate a process to have all ballot papers, boxes, raw data and consolidated data — as well as the report from the elections agency — submitted to the South African Police Service [SAPS] with immediate effect,” wrote Mbalula.
“The handover to the SAPS should be in the presence of ANC security, led by Comrade Patrick Mathebula, the ANC electoral committee and a representative of the ANC Veterans League at national level.”
While it is not clear how this will affect the outcomes of the regional conference, Mbalula’s letter throws a spanner in the works, as it could potentially lead to the conference — which elected Joburg’s first female chairperson — being rerun.
The letter effectively calls for a reopening of the conference processes, but instead of relying on internal dispute resolution mechanisms, it ropes in the police.
The Sunday Times reported in December that the ANC in the province had announced it would investigate allegations of vote-buying that marred the conference. Though Mbalula’s letter does not list vote-buying among the allegations, it signals that the party has reached a point where it can no longer ignore the claimed irregularities related to the conference.
Mbalula is also hauling provincial deployees to the Johannesburg conference over the coals, instructing them to explain how the conference was run.
“Furthermore, the PTT is advised to seek a legal opinion on this matter and for the PTT deployees to the Johannesburg region to submit a report to the SG on the regional conference in question,” said Mbalula.
It remains to be seen whether Mbalula’s decision is linked to his own ambitions to contest the ANC presidency in 2027.
The Sunday Times reported at the time of the conference that Masuku’s victory was being cast as the pinnacle of a fightback by Gauteng leaders who are against the government of national unity (GNU), after their disbandment in 2025. It reported that Thembinkosi “TK” Nciza, Lebogang Maile and Panyaza Lesufi were working behind the scenes to mount a fightback against Mbalula, who is believed to have pushed for the disbandment of the Gauteng ANC’s provincial executive committee (PEC).
Those close to the trio said at the time they were fighting against Mbalula, who wanted to use their disbandment to weaken deputy president Paul Mashatile’s presidential ambitions.
Mashatile and Mbalula are expected to go head-to-head at the ANC’s 2027 national conference as they bid to succeed Cyril Ramaphosa as the party’s president.
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