Angry Zuma rebels plan to go it alone

Secret talks to form new alliance and split ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal votes to block Cyril

They want to create a quasi-federal province in KZN ANC sources

● Jacob Zuma loyalists in KwaZulu-Natal are said to be plotting a campaign to oust President Cyril Ramaphosa as party leader and split their votes in elections next year — voting for the ANC in the province but giving their national ballots to a party sympathetic to their cause should their plan to remove Ramaphosa fail.

Insiders say the Zuma backers were considering working with Andile Mngxitama’s Black First Land First ahead of the polls as part of a bid to punish Ramaphosa for Zuma’s early exit from office.

In addition, Zuma’s close ally, Caesar Nongqunga, president of the Twelve Apostles Church in Christ, has formed a new political party, the African Transformation Congress. Insiders said Nongqunga formed the party with Zuma’s blessing. He was not available for comment yesterday.

Church leaders held a meeting at Umgababa on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast yesterday, where a letter written to the ANC informing the party of the decision to launch a new political organisation was read out.

Senior leaders in KwaZulu-Natal said several caucus meetings had been held in the province where a detailed plan to undermine Ramaphosa was hatched by Zuma’s backers.

The plan includes ensuring that Zuma’s close ally, Sihle Zikalala, is re-elected party chairman when the province elects new leaders. An elective conference is scheduled to be held at the end of the month.

A Zikalala-led executive would then call for an early national general council, which would be converted to a national elective conference to remove Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa would be accused of failing to implement party resolutions as adopted at Nasrec in December, including expropriation of land without compensation.

“They are demanding a national general council. There has been an engagement with the SG [ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule],” said a senior provincial leader.

“They will claim that Cyril was now betraying the resolutions from Nasrec on land because of the constitutional amendment process,” said a provincial leader.

“They will also accuse him of failing to set up the state bank as directed by national conference. Another allegation against him would be the weakening of Eskom after the signing of the deal with independent power producers.”

Should they fail to convince the majority within the ANC, sources said, they plan to defy Ramaphosa’s leadership and operate as an autonomous ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.

This would include running a separate election campaign with Zuma as its face.

Speculation is rife in the province that the Zuma grouping is even considering mobilising its members and supporters not to vote for the ANC on the national ballot next year to spite Ramaphosa.

“They want to create a quasi-federal province. They will campaign for KwaZuluNatal voters to vote overwhelmingly for the party on the provincial ballot and channel the votes elsewhere nationally to punish the ANC nationally.”

ANC national working committee member and former KwaZulu-Natal chairman Senzo Mchunu said the party was aware of the plan.

“We’re aware . . . for now we’re calling it a rumour,” said Mchunu.

But Zikalala denied the existence of such a plan.

“These are totally, totally lies. There is not even a single person I have heard talking about that. I have never met anyone in the province who has spoken about that issue formally or informally.

“This is not the mood in KwaZulu-Natal. The mood we have is that the national conference is behind us, we must unite all of us around the programme of action and around the leadership led by Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The programme of action we support is radical economic transformation, organisational unity and renewal.”

Mngxitama yesterday denied that his organisation had held talks with Zuma backers to form an alliance.

“No. This is a big rumour. It has got no basis.”

However, he said he was aware that some Zuma supporters had expressed their willingness on social media to split the vote in next year’s elections.

“We are going to contest the elections on the radical economic transformation agenda. It’s an agenda of the ANC that has been abandoned by the Cyril Ramaphosa leadership.

“People who believe that programme has been betrayed by [Ramaphosa] must just vote for us.”

He said there was “commonality of perspective” between his party and some ANC members. “On ideological orientation there is convergence,” he said.

Mngxitama’s appearance alongside Zikalala, premier Willies Mchunu and Durban mayor Zandile Gumede outside the High Court in Durban where Zuma appeared briefly on Friday has fuelled speculation of talks between the BLF and an ANC faction supporting Zuma.

Former ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairman Senzo Mchunu said the support shown to Zuma by party leaders outside court did not contribute to building the ANC.

“As the ANC we’re more interested in what are the reasons the person appears in court. It is heroism if you’re accused [in court] of furthering the aims and objectives of the ANC. But if that is not the case there is no heroism.

“You have to face the law . . . all cadres remain responsible for what they do and don’t do in keeping within the ambit of the law.”

When one Zuma backer was asked about the talk that they were flirting with the BLF, he said: “[Our support for Zuma is] on principle and we will align ourselves with likeminded people.”

Another Zuma backer, who asked not to be named, said the rumour was being spread by the BLF to gain support in the province.

“The BLF wants to replace the EFF in parliament to fight President Ramaphosa.”

He said it was “an error of judgment” to allow Mngxitama to share the stage with Zuma and Zikalala.

But several ANC leaders in the province insisted that the search for new political allies was ongoing.

The provincial campaign would include mobilising traditional leaders, including King Goodwill Zwelithini.

“Sihle [Zikalala] recently told the legislature that the ANC’s resolution on land does not apply to the land owned by the Ingonyama Trust. It is only directed at white farmers.

“So as the province they will fight to protect the king and the Ingonyama Trust.”

A member of the provincial task team said the ANC in the province was already acting like an autonomous structure.

“The #DefendZuma rally outside the court was co-ordinated by ANC structures. Some ANC structures have decided to run a parallel programme.

“People are operating like iANC yaseNatali. It’s madness.”

Another Zuma backer said:“Ramaphosa and national [leaders] are busy with running the country. It’s election time. So they must leave us here. We will take President Zuma around and teach people politics.”

Carl Niehaus, spokesman of the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association, said their plan was to continue mobilising people when Zuma appears in court on June 8 and “around radical economic transformation”.

He added: “Those of us who are still here believe strongly that comradeship is about full solidarity and we want to support him.”

People are operating like iANC yaseNatali. It’s madness