The ANC’s Nkwenkweni Mpeluza branch co-ordinator in Mbekweni, Paarl, Vincent Silingile, says the attacks on his brother and on a close family friend’s vehicle were an attempt by a “faction” to intimidate him and to force him to pull out from running as branch secretary.
Silingile’s brother was driving his car at the time and was injured after allegedly being attacked by a group of men who stoned the vehicle in Mbekweni on Saturday.
On Wednesday last week the tyres of a vehicle belonging to his friend were allegedly slashed.
Police spokesperson Sinathi Joni confirmed Wellington SAPS were investigating a case of malicious damage to property after the front tyres of a 28-year-old female’s vehicle were reportedly slashed. No arrests have been made at this stage.
Joni said a case of malicious damage to property was registered at Mbekweni SAPS after a 31-year-old man alleged that his vehicle’s windows were smashed on Saturday.
That incident happened hours before the branch general meeting (BGM) ahead of the ANC’s 54th national conference in December.
The Nkwenkweni Mpeluza branch in Ward 16 has not had a leader since last year’s local government elections in August.
“My branch has been advocating for me to be in the leadership of the branch. But there are people in my region, even in my ward, who have an interest.
"They know they got into their positions illegally, hence there was that investigation by the national working committee and the provincial elective conference into all the fraud that happened in the Western Cape.”
He said an eyewitness of the attack on his car heard one alleged attacker saying “it’s not him”.
“They were only shown a car or maybe one of them knew me. That whole thing left me concluding that we were about to have this meeting and they wanted to demobilise me so that I could not be part of that meeting so that they could steal the BGM and steal the delegate so that they could go to the national conference,” said Silingile.
He suspected that a knife may have been used to puncture his friend’s car.
“For me that is a warning. They are trying to get to people who are close to me and are determined to intimidate me, to pull out so that they can do what they want,” he added.
ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said: “We condemned the acts of intimidation. As comrades we call on our people to be tolerant even if they have differences.
“These are unorganisational acts and we need to condemn them, and anyone who has information should relate it to the relevant authorities.”