Faction facts and fictions

More cartoons online at ACTION” in the sense of a group formed to promote its own interests dates from about 1500.

Usually factions are accommodated in a broad political group under categories like “extremists” or “moderates”, “Left” and “Right” wings, “progressives” and “moderates”.

In South Africa, “faction” has developed the compound “faction fight”, now over 100 years old, usually found in the contexts of tribal conditions or clan vendettas among miners or urban black people.

Although such violence seems far removed from the current political scene, we should remember that during the elections, officially declared “free and fair”, about 20 candidates died or were murdered.

It is generally conceded that these killings were to a disturbing extent intra-party assassinations, carried out by rivals within the organisation, rather than by outsiders.

Although investigations are still continuing, these killings give the lie to observation that the ruling party is “a broad church” accommodating a wide range of political views and policies.

It is now daily evident that there are “pro-” and “anti-” Zuma factions growing within the ANC.

On a different level, the dominant #FeesMust Fall movement is meeting resistance in the faction of #TakeBackWits.