Durban - Senzo Mchunu's staunch supporters were caught by surprise and suffered a major blow when he stepped down as KZN premier on Monday, as they were hoping he would not jump but force the ANC to dismiss him.
The shock was apparent when The Mercury's sister paper Isolezwe spoke to some of those who were at the forefront of Mchunu's supporters in the run-up to the November KZN ANC elective conference in Pietermaritzburg.
Read: Willies Mchunu replaces Senzo as KZN premier
Sthenjwa Nyawose, who was prominent in leading marches by ANC members opposed to the election of new provincial chairman Sihle Zikalala, was lost for words.
“Hawu, he's resigned? That's very strange because we were not expecting that, but please contact the ANC for it to comment,” said Nyawose shutting down his phone.
Nyawose led the group that wrote to the party's national leadership at its headquarters in Luthuli House, complaining that something was amiss regarding the counting of votes that led to Mchunu emerging as the defeated candidate.
Read: ANC leadership not briefed on Mchunu’s resignation
The councillor seemed devastated by Monday's news, so much so that he couldn't say much. He drew a deep breath and switched off his phone.
During the march Nyawose led to the provincial ANC headquarters rejecting Zikalala's leadership, he held up a placard with the words “My Senzo is My James”.
Mchunu's ejection from his post comes at a time when there's already fear of a purge of his followers as eThekwini Mayor James Nxumalo has been relegated to the pheriphery of the candidate councillor lists, diminishing his chances of coming back as mayor after the elections in August.
Senzo's wife' Thembeka Mchunu, who is the Mayor of oThungulu, is also being pushed out of her mayoral position as her deputy, Nonhle Mkhulisi, has taken the top position in the election list.
Umsunduzi mayor Chris Ndlela seems also on the way out and it is rumoured he is being pushed out by the ANCYL in the Moses Mabhida region who made the call that he must go.
At the beginning of the year Mchunu's supporters gathered in Ballito day after learning of the former premier's axing as the provincial chairman.
In that meeting they had put together a fight-back plan including marching to Seme House, but this time they appeared not to have a plan.
The Mercury