Johannesburg - Cope deputy president Willie Madisha says he is consulting his legal team following the congress national committee’s (CNC’s) announcement that it was terminating his membership with immediate effect.
The party accused Madisha of hosting parallel meetings and abusing party resources.
The membership of Mzwandile Hleko, secretary of elections nationally, was also terminated. The pair now have 14 days to appeal against the CNC’s decision.
The letter that was sent to Madisha was signed by acting general secretary Erick Mohlapamaswi and Cope president Mosiuoa Lekota.
“This letter is sent to you to communicate a decision of the CNC meeting held yesterday (Sunday), having considered your failure to respond to a letter sent to your good self on Friday, June 23, 2023.
“The CNC has decided to terminate your Cope membership with immediate effect. In line with the above, you are informed of your right to appeal the decision to the acting general secretary within 14 days. Such an appeal should be communicated via email to the AGS for consideration.
“Consequent to the above, you are therefore requested to return any asset of the party that is in your possession by Friday, June 30, 2023, irrespective of your appeal or not,” Mohlapamaswi stated in the letter.
Madisha has acknowledged receipt of the letter. He says he is consulting his legal team.
“Madisha is currently consulting his legal team and also consulting the party’s constitutional structures.
“After the consultation, he and constitutional structures will address the media,” said Hleko.
Speaking in an interview with a broadcaster, Mohlapamaswi said the probe had started a long time ago.
“Madisha decided that the president was suspended on his own without the mandate of the Cope and opened a case, which was against the constitution. Our constitution is very clear that when you need to litigate, you need to get a mandate or authority from the CNC before you can litigate.
“One of the other things that stands out is the misuse of party funds. He was also forming parallel structures in various provinces and bringing the party into disrepute,” said Mohlapamaswi.
Hleko refused to recognise the expulsion and said Mohlapamaswi had not been elected as acting general secretary.
“Mohlapamaswi cannot send a letter of demands to Madisha, because he is not the acting secretary-general. The CNC directly elected members are 18 in total, and of that number, many have resigned; we are left with 12. In those 12 on their side, they only have Lekota and Tebogo (surname inaudible),” said Hleko.
He also accused Lekota of not being open to democratic processes.
“Lekota does not like democracy, and it is proven every day. When you approach congress, he will come up with all these things.
“We have embarked on a programme that is endorsed by the constitution of the party and says that between April and June, all provinces must have gone to a provincial congress, and the national congress must sit by early July in the year of national elections.
“Our term as CNC is coming to an end in January 2024. But because the constitution demands that we go to congresses, what we are doing is moving around and revising the structures, and now those interim structures that were acting are ready to go to the provincial congress,” said Hleko.
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said Cope was born out of the failure of its founding members to accept the outcome of the democratic electoral process of the ANC.
“The party has since been mired in internal leadership battles, with no end in sight,” Seepe said.
Seepe said the current developments seem to be a repeat of the past.
“The timing of the expulsion raises suspicion, especially as it comes as the party prepares to hold provincial congresses. The suspension and expulsion appear to come from the ANC cookbook.
“To ensure that your opponents do not stand a chance of being elected, make sure you find or throw dirt at them. If they protest, suspend and expel them,” Seepe said.
Former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka joined Cope in February 2009. She was understood to have been closely involved in the establishment of Cope, while at the same time avoiding making her association with the ANC breakaway grouping public. She rejoined the ANC later that year.
The Star