Split in Khulumani group
Factions clash over National Control Centre
THE board of the Khulumani Support Group is at loggerheads with the organisation’s newly formed National Working Committee (NWC) over allegations by the NWC that a subgroup within the board has taken control of the organisation’s National Control Centre.
The group was formed in 1995 by family members of victims and survivors of apartheid atrocities.
It is a membership organisation that has pioneered groundbreaking programmes to transform victims into victors and active citizens.
The NWC made the allegation in a statement meant to inform Khulumani’s stakeholders and partners of the situation, it said prevailed since November last year.
The NWC said it considered the actions of a subgroup of the board in allegedly taking control of the National Contact Centre “as a hostile and unacceptable action that has been characterised by an abuse of power over a peoples’ movement with a long and proud history of leading the struggle for justice and redress for apartheid gross human rights violations”.
Countering that allegation yesterday, the board said it “firmly rejects the defamatory and inaccurate claims released to the public under the title 11 February 2019: Statement of the National Working Committee of Khulumani Support Group with regard to the present situation of a board-membership stalemate”.
“We deny with contempt the claims that ‘a subgroup of the board’ has taken control of the National Contact Centre as a hostile and unacceptable action that has been characterised by an abuse of power over a peoples’ movement’.
“We further note that allegations of ‘the lack of compliance by members of this subgroup with critical organisational policies and procedures, especially procedures related to financial management’ are defamatory, lack evidence and detail, and may be actionable.”
On November 26 last year the board of Khulumani suspended its national director, Dr Marjorie Jobson, pending investigation into a looming financial and governance crisis within the organisation.
The board appointed an interim executive committee to conduct the investigation and manage the organisation during this crisis, and the investigation was reaching its conclusion.
“The results will be announced shortly. We are committed to ensuring that, following this investigation, all necessary processes will be put into place to solve Khulumani’s financial and organisational difficulties, and to take forward the mandate of our membership,” said the board.
The allegations are defamatory, lack evidence and detail, and may be actionable
Khumumani board