ANC’S Rubusana region backs Faku for NEC position

But fraud conviction could jeopardise former BCM mayor’s chances

The ANC Dr WB Rubusana region wants convicted fraudster and former Buffalo City Metro mayor Zukisa Faku, who left her position as an ANC MP under a cloud, to be elected to the party’s highest decision making body, the national executive committee (NEC).

The regional executive committee (REC) announced on Wednesday that it had resolved to lobby its branches to rally behind Faku and former ANC provincial spokesperson, Phakamisa Hobongwana, to ensure that they make the cut for the NEC.

The region also confirmed its support for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s second-term bid and provincial chair Oscar Mabuyane’s battle for the position of deputy president.

Branch nominations got under way this week in preparation for the national elective conference in December.

With 50 branches and 22,000 members, Rubusana is the second biggest region in the province after OR Tambo.

Its backing for Faku and Hobongwana is believed to be a big boost for the duo.

“Both these comrades grew organically through structures of the mass democratic movement,” regional secretary Antonio Carels said in a statement.

“They both joined the struggle at a very young age and pragmatically contributed to the struggle for liberation of our people.”

However, it remained unclear whether the step-aside rule would apply to Faku or if she was eligible for election.

Earlier in 2022, the ANC asked the Mandela memorial fraud case accused — including excouncillor and former health MEC Sindiswa Gomba and former BCM mayor Zukiswa Ncitha — to step aside.

Asked whether the conviction would not jeopardise Faku’s chances of joining the NEC, Carels declined to comment on Thursday.

Neither provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi nor Faku could be reached for comment.

Despite her conviction, an insider said party structures supported the REC’S big push for Faku, a former teacher and political activist. The source was adamant Faku was “100%” ready to serve the organisation.

“Yes, we agreed in our Dr WB Rubusana [branch] chairpersons and secretaries [meeting] which took place last week before the REC [meeting],” he said. “Her political credentials speak for themselves.”

Asked about her criminal record, the source said some ANC members were considered for leadership positions despite their brush with the law in the past.

“Andile Lungisa was sentenced and he was released on parole [for assault] and became PEC [provincial executive committee] member,” the insider said.

However, the source said Faku’s criminal record was never discussed at the meeting.

“I know there was something that led her to vacate her MP position but I thought it was addressed internally,” he said.

In 2016, Faku was sentenced to three years’ house arrest and community service at a Cambridge old-age home.

She was sentenced to nine counts of fraud after she was found to have misused a municipal credit card during overseas trips.

She stepped down from her position as an ANC MP in 2019 after the fraud conviction sparked controversy.

The conviction barred her from serving in the National Assembly.

The DA demanded an investigation into how she had secured her role in parliament after the conviction.

“Should it turn out that Faku was never eligible for election, parliament should conduct an urgent review to establish where and how their internal vetting systems failed to pick this up,” then DA chief whip John Steenhuisen, now party leader, said in a statement in 2019. “Parliament would then also be obligated to recover the money and benefits Faku received while masquerading as a lawful member of parliament.”

In 2020, Eastern Cape resident Sipho Leve asked parliament to open a new fraud case against Faku and recoup all the benefits and salaries she was entitled to as an MP.

Leve later slapped Faku with a R3m lawsuit claiming that he had suffered damages after the former parliamentarian referred to him as “nothing but a mentally sick man” in a Daily Dispatch article.