Former president Thabo Mbeki told the ANC national executive committee at the weekend that the governing party should prepare for a possible split caused by “irreconcilable ideological differences”.
Insiders told the Sunday Times that Mbeki made the comment in response to an input by NEC member Tony Yengeni at Saturday's heated virtual meeting. Yengeni had apparently said there were irreconcilable policy differences that existed within the party.
Insiders said Mbeki based his warning of a split on the fact that even late party president Oliver Tambo could not reason with the so-called “Gang of Eight” who ended up being expelled from the party in 1975.
The Gang of Eight referred to a group of eight leaders who were against the decision taken at the Morogoro Conference in 1969 that the party’s membership be open to whites, coloureds and Indians.
After six years of negotiations led by Tambo, the group ended up being expelled from the party because they were ideologically opposed to the decision.
According to insiders who attended the NEC meeting, Mbeki said the party now finds itself in a similar situation which was likely going to lead to a split.
Mbeki spoke after a heated argument between ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe and Yengeni, with the latter saying there were “irreconcilable ideological differences” in the party’s leadership.
Mbeki agreed with Limpopo premier Stan Mathabatha that a special retreat was needed to deal with differences and “hatred” among the ANC leaders.
“He said that we just devote attention to these major political issues which are about life and death of the ANC and leave aside all these other matters,” the insider said.
“He said in a situation that we find ourselves in today, where there are irreconcilable ideological differences among us, as comrade Tony had said, we must prepare for a split because the ideological differences are irreconcilable. We can’t insist that there must be unity among people who have irreconcilable ideological differences.”
