Sandiso Phaliso
POLICE were called to the ANC’s provincial headquarters in the city centre yesterday to remove members who were disgruntled with the party’s list of prospective councillors for the local government elections.
Members of some branches of the Dullah Omar region staged a sit-in, both inside and outside the building, and vowed not to leave until their concerns had been addressed.
Police spokesperson Andre Traut said a protest situation had been monitored, but no criminal cases were registered and no damages or injuries reported.
Walter Prins, of the public order police, gave the disgruntled members five minutes to disperse, warning that a failure to do so would result in them being moved by force.
The members eventually left the building.
Ward 36 ANC secretary Nonzaliseko Mlungwana said members of the branch had staged a sit-in and had toyi-toyied outside the headquarters because they accused the Dullah Omar region leadership of manipulating the councillors’ list.
Mlungwana said they had embarked on this action after they had learnt that Nokuthula Bolitye, the candidate councillor they had nominated, had not been registered. They demanded immediate intervention.
“The people elected Nokuthula (Bolitye) to stand as a candidate because we have faith in her. It is very disturbing that the leadership has changed the list behind our backs,” said Mlungwana.
Ward 39 chairperson Wandile Ngalo said branch members had staged a sit-in to ensure that Khaya Yozi was placed on the list as their candidate councillor.
“People are supporting him and want him to lead them,” he said, claiming the regional leadership had changed the list and had put forward their own candidate.
Xolile Mazele, a Ward 39 executive member, said it was not proper that the provincial leadership had to call the police when they had disputes, instead of addressing the crowd themselves.
“We came to the (provincial) office as members of the party and that is not a crime. We were surprised to have been removed by police because we were sitting there waiting for our grievances to be solved. We will file a complaint,” said Mazele.
The deadline for political parties to submit their candidate councillor list expired at 5pm yesterday, said Independent Electoral Commission spokesperson Kate Bapela.
ANC provincial spokesperson Yonela Diko could not be reached for comment by the time of publishing.
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