ANC NEC member Mduduzi Manana has joined the list of those who have been disqualified by the party’s ‘Elexions’ electoral committee from standing for an ANC position at the 55th ANC national elective conference.
Although Manana has denied knowledge of his disqualification, stating that he had not been made aware of it, a highly placed source within the ANC national; executive committee (NEC) confirmed that Manana was disqualified but chose not to reveal the information to the public.
“He received the letter of disqualification this week, and as a matter of fact, he has appealed his disqualification. There are many who have been disqualified… that’s all we can say for now,” said the source.
On Tuesday, Manana told Independent Media that the vetting process was ongoing and that queries about his disqualification should be referred to the party’s internal electoral committee.
The former Higher Education deputy minister was sentenced to one year in jail or a fine of R100 000 in 2017 for assaulting two women at a Johannesburg nightclub. He was further ordered to complete 500 hours of community service at the organisation called Valued Citizen Initiative.
Manana’s disqualification comes a few days after the former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini and NEC member Tony Yengeni were disqualified from contesting for the ANC position after the party said they had been convicted on criminal charges.
The ANC electoral rules, which have been recently adopted by the NEC ahead of the nominations process, exclude members who have been convicted and have served a prison sentence from standing for party positions in the NEC.
The electoral committee headed by former president Kgalema Motlanthe told Dlamini that her conviction on charges of perjury and a sentence of four years or a fine of R200 000 imposed against her made her unsuitable to stand for any party position at the 55th ANC national conference at Nasrec.
The former leader of the ANC Women’s League has since instructed her lawyers to appeal her disqualification.
In a letter addressed to Yengeni dated November 9, the ANC electoral committee said the vetting process revealed information that negatively affected Yengeni’s eligibility to stand for nomination as a candidate in the NEC.
“The vetting process as administered by the agency of the electoral committee known as Elexions has revealed information that negatively affects your eligibility to stand for nomination as a candidate for all NEC positions during the 55th national conference.
“The vetting information at our disposal reveals that you have a historical record of being found guilty of a serious crime in a court of law for which the prison sentence had been more than six months. To be specific, you are summarily disqualified as a candidate for all NEC positions, including additional members during the 55th national conference, as per the rules that have been approved by the NEC,” the committee said.
However, Yengeni later successfully appealed his disqualification.