Durban - The controversial ANC chairman in Chatsworth, Visvin Reddy, called for the party to suspend a comrade after a heated social media debate over the coming eThekwini regional conference led to racial insults.
The build-up to the three-day conference, which begins on Friday, had led to a blasphemous act, insults hurled on social media and gunfights in KwaXimba.
ANC regional treasurer Zandile Gumede and eThekwini Mayor James Nxumalo are the top contenders for the position of regional chairman.
Nxumalo supporter Reddy, who was told in a response to a post he made on Facebook to “go back to India”, appealed to ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala to suspend Mphumezy Nkubesi-Sibiya from the party.
Nkubesi-Sibiya is the deputy chairman of the ANC Youth League in Ward 74, Lamontville.
“I reported him (Nkubesi-Sibiya) to Sihle Zikalala. He should discipline and suspend him,” Reddy said.
Nkubesi-Sibiya, who told The Mercury he was known to back Gumede, had on Facebook told Reddy: “I dnt report 2 FB, u fat ass...wht du u know abt d ANC u f***** traitor?…Go back 2 India. The conference wl hpn next wk Friday nd Mom Zandile wl emerg az d chairperson of eThekwini region.”
Nkubesi-Sibiya had also attacked Nxumalo and the chairman of the municipality’s human settlements and infrastructure committee, Nigel Gumede.
When contacted, Nkubesi-Sibiya said he did not care about being reported to Zikalala.
“Who suspended him when he called for Indians to go back to India? He must not threaten me with suspension,” he said.
Before the general election in May, Reddy was suspended from the party after he called on Facebook for Indians who complained about the ANC government to “go back to India”.
Members of the ANC at Nkubesi-Sibiya’s ward at Lamontville allegedly threw human excrement inside the African Gospel Church building on Sunday morning in an attempt to prevent a branch meeting from taking place.
A church priest, who described the act as blasphemous, has since opened a case at the Lamontville police station.
“This is disgusting and I’m very angry with what these people did to God’s house. This house needs to be respected,” he said.
The priest said a bottle of beer was also thrown into the church and broke a window.
Nkubesi-Sibiya said the meeting should not have taken place because there was no quorum for it to sit.
However another source, who attended the meeting, said it finished at 4am on Monday after they had nominated their candidate.
There have been a number of incidents where branch meetings had been disrupted.
In KwaXimba, west of Durban, two people were wounded on Sunday during a branch meeting that turned into chaos. The meeting was abandoned.
The Mercury