Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's campaign to succeed President Jacob Zuma has hit turbulent waters. Her supporters in KwaZulu-Natal face the chop and her staunch backer Ace Magashule has revealed he may not support her.
At a meeting in Pretoria on Friday most of the ANC national executive committee members agreed to disband the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive and put an interim structure in place after a court ruled that the committee's election was unlawful.
The Sunday Times has been reliably informed that Zuma intervened in the meeting and suggested that a legal opinion be sought on whether the court decision could be appealed.
The matter is set to be finalised by an NEC meeting due to take place next weekend.
The removal of the KwaZulu-Natal executive would deal a blow to Dlamini-Zuma's bid to become ANC president because the ousted provincial executive was running her campaign and gave her a platform to drum up support.
This week her campaign suffered another setback after Magashule refused to commit to it. Magashule is believed to be the leader of her lobby group known as the "premier league". In an interview with the Sunday Times this week, Magashule said the ANC presidency should not be decided according to gender.
He said he was more inclined to support a leader who was capable of uniting the ANC. "For us and for me it's not about a woman or a man. It is about who is best to lead the ANC during this era and that best must emerge," he said.
Magashule's comments come after the chairmen of several provinces met in Mpumalanga where it is believed a discussion was held about finding a compromise candidate - other than Dlamini-Zuma or Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Magashule also rejected the perception that he was opposed to Ramaphosa, arguing that the decision to make him Zuma's deputy had been taken at his house in 2012...