One of the biggest backers of a resolution at the ANC's Nasrec conference in December last year, that prohibited party members from going to court if aggrieved by internal ANC processes, was Supra Mahumapelo, the then premier of the North West.
He argued that violating the prohibition should be punished by expulsion from the party. Obviously this zeal was meant to hide how he used the courts himself and abused the legal system in the North West for years.
This dishonest chap was back with the hypocrisy for which he is known. Because of his love of power he quickly forgot his arguments about how terrible it is for ANC members to institute legal action against the party. He has now rushed to the courts himself to indirectly fight the dissolution of his provincial executive and to contest the national executive committee's correct, albeit delayed decision, to strip him and his cronies of all their power.
To rub salt in the wound he hired EFF chair Dali Mpofu as his legal representative. Can you believe this? The demagogue of the ANC being so liberal as to momentarily forget that Mpofu is his political adversary and deliberately sharing with him the secrets of the party to which he pretended to be committed. It is stuff you could not make up. The ANC is in deep trouble with people of this nature in its ranks.
But it comes as no surprise because this is the same chap who put up an unnecessary R6m statue of Jacob Zuma in a community that still uses bucket toilets. The same chap who wanted to rename the North West province after Moses Kotane at the cost of close to R1bn. Kotane must be turning in his grave to see what a circus the ANC in his home province has become. He would care about R1bn being spent to pay him tribute when children are dying in pit latrines and Mangaung is known for terrible potholes.
How does the ANC continue to harbour people like Mahumapelo? How are our people supposed to continue pinning their hopes on the ANC when people like this call themselves leaders?
On a somewhat positive note, this week I was pleased to see the integrity commission recommending - for a change - that action should be taken against crooks within the ANC over the VBS scandal. A lot of people are asking when this commission will recommend some tough action against Zuma for behaving badly both in and out of office. That will be a big ask, I know.
I remember saying to myself in Mangaung (before we knew theft was happening under the noses of ANC ancestors buried there) that the ANC had done the right thing to establish an integrity commission. We all know how toothless it was under Zuma. One hopes that under Cyril Ramaphosa it will be emboldened to act even against popular demagogues like Mahumapelo and not pick and choose soft targets in the movement while the big fish go free.
For it to gain credibility, the commission must as a matter of urgency summon Malusi Gigaba, Ace Magashule, John Block, Andile Lungisa, Bathabile Dlamini and Zweli Mkhize to answer to allegations associated with their names. If it is unwilling to take firm action against these big fish, the commission should rather just disband and let the ship of the ANC's integrity sink in peace. There has been too much theorising and not enough action in regard to the commission.
Its chair, George Mashamba, who used to teach me philosophy at university, must understand that restoring the integrity of the ANC is not a philosophical question like those he used to ask us in class, for example "does God exist?" The commission should practise some Marxism against comrades who have chosen to forget the working class and have made a hobby of stealing.
So now we watch to see whether Ramaphosa's administration will preside over an integrity commission that only has eyes for political lightweights while the corrupt sharks continue to get away with murder.
• JJ Tabane is a political commentator and the author of 'Let's Talk Frankly'..