A mini ANC rally in Khayelitsha, where ANC deputy president David Mabuza was set to accept the nomination for president, was disrupted by load shedding and the terrorist attack warning in Sandton.
Mabuza, who was nominated by the branch, was expected to accept the nomination from Western Cape's Ward 99 at the Kuyasa Primary School on Wednesday.
However, Mabuza was a no-show, allegedly due to the US embassy terrorist attack warning. Weekend Argus was informed at the rally Mabuza also had "a family emergency".
This came after the US Embassy issued an alert about possible terror attacks targeting large gatherings at an unspecified location in Sandton this weekend.
Instead, former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo, who was in attendance, urged those in attendance to nominate National Executive Committee (NEC) member Thandi Mahambehlala for any of the top six positions.
Mahambehlala used the opportunity to take several swipes at ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan also caught flack over ongoing power cuts.
"We are celebrating the life of Oliver Tambo when ordinary South Africans are dying from hunger more than ever before. We are also doing so in a country where bread, mealie meal, cooking oil, and sugar are expensive.
"This is because we are led by a man who doesn’t care about the welfare of people, and we are saying that we need to stand up to ensure there is change in the leadership of the ANC come December," Mahambehlala said.
She said it was also ANC policy that the party’s deputy president should be considered before anyone else for president.
Mahambehlala said she knew first-hand how most South Africans were living in shacks. She said crime levels had also sky-rocketed due to load shedding.
"We cannot have a president like this, a president who is unbothered that millions go missing in his home when people are dying of Covid-19.
She was referring to the theft at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm, where millions in foreign currency were stolen. A panel has since been established to get to the bottom of the allegations.
The three-member panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, will be assessing the evidence it receives in light of a motion by the African Transformation Movement (ATM).