The ANC has appointed its head of policy Jeff Radebe to investigate allegations that Mzwandile Masina and TK Nciza committed irregularities to sideline branches that did not support them at the Ekurhuleni regional conference at the weekend.
Unofficial results from the conference show Masina is set to secure a narrow victory for a third term as regional chair after the conference at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways.
Preliminary results, which are yet to be officially endorsed, show Masina won by 163 votes against rival Doctor Xhakaza's 151 votes.
A total of 19 votes from at least five branches have been quarantined over disputes relating to the authenticity of branches. As the margin is so narrow, these votes could affect the final results.
The “quarantined” votes are the subject of controversy and allegations which Radebe has been tasked to investigate.
The task team must, according to insiders, also make a call on whether the entire process leading to the conference must be reviewed.
Some of the allegations are contained in a lawyer's letter sent to Luthuli House on Tuesday on behalf of representatives from the five branches in wards 56, 106, 50 and 95.
In the letter from Obert Ntuli Inc, which Sunday Times Daily has seen, Masina and Nciza, who were leading preparations to organise the conference, are accused of making decisions that rendered the conference unfair and undemocratic, which led to chaotic scenes at the event.
They are accused of running the conference in a manner that resulted in favourable outcomes for them, hence the request that it be nullified.
“Our clients are demanding the conference be set aside and started de novo [afresh] to allow all members involved to participate fairly.
As things stand, the conference has produced an outcome that may not necessarily reflect the wishes of the branches in Ekurhuleni.
— Obert Ntuli Inc
“As things stand, the conference has produced an outcome that may not necessarily reflect the wishes of the branches in Ekurhuleni.”
They say they are willing to give the ANC a chance to resolve and attend to these allegations politically before approaching the courts.
“This is therefore a final objection that our clients would like to register. We hold an instruction to resume preparation to take this matter to court if the ANC does not adequately resolve our clients’ objection by Friday June 3.”
The concerns include that the announcement of the preliminary results may have prejudiced the entire conference as the quarantined votes may have a “significant impact”.
They also allege some branches were allowed to vote despite being declared invalid as early as March 27. They allege they were allowed to participate merely because they supported Masina and TK Nciza, who was re-elected regional secretary.
“There were numerous systematic failures and processes errors that were not addressed adequately, including but not limited to, BBGM reports from the office of the secretary-general that had different status of branch qualification/disqualification,” the lawyer’s letter reads.
The branches also allege they were not “adequately” informed about the conference venue, some were not provided with accommodation and “left in the cold as a further attempt to discourage and befuddle them”, and the registration process for the conference was “riddled with chaos” with some members barred from registering “which led to unjust administrative process”.
They also allege that they were intimidated by heavily armed men guarding the conference.
“Senior members from the national office and provincial office, some of whom were part of the national executive committee (NEC) and/or involved in the dispute resolution process, were biased and took decisions during the conference that may be viewed as influencing the process to a specific outcome,” the letter reads.
Nciza did not respond to questions while Masina referred Sunday Times Daily to Luthuli House where, when approached for comment, spokesperson Pule Mabe said he would revert. He had not done so by the time of publication.
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