ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula is being accused of abusing his powers by charging his opponents and removing them from influential positions as part of a strategy to prepare for his ANC presidential campaign ahead of the party’s national conference in 2027.
Senior party leaders — including former sports minister Zizi Kodwa, former state security minister David Mahlobo, former finance minister Malusi Gigaba, former chair of chairs Cedrick Frolick, and former deputy minister Obed Bapela — have all appeared before the national disciplinary committee for a pre-hearing.
This comes during a week in which Mbalula made sweeping changes to NEC subcommittees and provincial deployees. Kodwa was one of the casualties, as he was removed from his position as convener of NEC deployees in KwaZulu-Natal and moved to the Northern Cape.
Though Mbalula is entitled to make these moves, some insiders have questioned his timing, suggesting the changes may be linked to his presidential ambitions. Mbalula declined to comment yesterday.
Kodwa and Mbalula used to enjoy close relations dating back to their days in the ANC Youth League, but insiders have revealed the two have fallen out. It is believed Mbalula thinks Kodwa, Gigaba and Mahlobo will not support his 2027 campaign.
Kodwa, Mahlobo, Gigaba and Frolick have been charged with bringing the ANC into disrepute for having been mentioned in the Zondo commission report but failing to present themselves before the party’s integrity commission.
Bapela has been charged with two counts of misconduct over his controversial trip to Morocco, where he is accused of having had an “unauthorised” meeting with the foreign affairs minister there in a move the party says contradicts its foreign policy on Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
Kodwa was fingered by the state capture commission for allegedly having had a beneficial relationship with Jehan Mackay, a former director at technology group EOH, involving personal loans.
Mahlobo was accused of bribing judges during his tenure as minister of state security.
The Zondo commission also homed in on Gigaba’s tenure as minister of public enterprises, accusing him of having had a close relationship with the Gupta family and having participated in their state-capture schemes. Meanwhile, Frolick was fingered for his allegedly dodgy dealings with Bosasa.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) last month dropped charges against Kodwa, while Gigaba, Mahlobo and Frolick have not been officially charged.
This is a witch-hunt and an abuse of office, because this is clearly a manipulation of ANC processes
— Anonymous NEC member
Kodwa faces two charges of bringing the ANC into disrepute and failing to appear before the party’s integrity commission, despite NEC instructions to do so, after he was mentioned in the Zondo report.
The five charged senior leaders appeared before the party’s disciplinary body for pre-hearings at Luthuli House last week and this week.
They are all being represented by lawyer and party veteran Mathews Phosa, who this week confirmed they were all his clients but said he could not give any further details.
Phosa is said to have raised in the pre-hearing concerns about a line Mbalula included in all the charge sheets saying he had been given authority by the NEC to charge them.
“What was raised in the pre-hearing is whether there was an authority in the NEC to charge the people. There is no NEC authority that was given, and he himself is not an authority. He was moered [thrashed] at that pre-hearing — Phosa came for him,” said a source with intimate knowledge of what transpired.
As part of his defence strategy, Kodwa is believed to be questioning the motive behind the charges against him, arguing it was not true that he refused to appear before the integrity commission.
He is also said to be contesting the charges on the basis that the NPA has since withdrawn the charges against him.
“They say he [Kodwa] refused to appear before the integrity commission. But it’s on public record that he appeared more than once before the integrity commission,” said a source.
“They also say he [brought] the name of the organisation into disrepute by virtue of being mentioned in the Zondo commission report. But how [is this so] if it is on record that Zizi has filed court papers to review the Zondo commission report [insofar] as it relates to him and his charges have been withdrawn in court?”
Mbalula has been accused of using his office to purge those he believes will not support his candidacy in 2027.
They say he has charged Kodwa because their friendship has collapsed, and he was therefore unlikely to support him when he raises his hand in 2027.
Mbalula’s push for the disbandment of the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive committees is also allegedly motivated by his ambitions, as the two provinces are said to be fully behind deputy president Paul Mashatile to succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The changes to the deployments to provinces as well as NEC subcommittees are also alleged to be part of his plan to give powers to those sympathetic to his cause.
“This is a witch-hunt and an abuse of office, because this is clearly a manipulation of ANC processes,” said an NEC member.
“I mean, you can’t use the NEC to weaponise — it’s weaponisation of that structure. The main issue here is whether there is an authority from the NEC, and the answer is no. This one is a clear witch-hunt.”
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