By Simon Nare
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has lashed out at party members who use the courts to interdict elective conferences when they fail to secure nominations or contest positions within the organisation.
Mbalula was addressing the ANC’s 12th West Rand regional conference outside Johannesburg after disgruntled members unsuccessfully attempted to stop the gathering through a court interdict.
He told delegates the ANC had won the court battle in the early hours of the morning.
“When I arrived here it was on and on and it is fantastic,” he said.
A group of members had approached the courts seeking to interdict the conference, alleging irregularities in branch verification processes.
However, the application was dismissed for lack of urgency after the court ruled the applicants had delayed bringing the matter and that the conference was already under way when the case was heard.
The matter is the latest in a series of internal ANC disputes in which disgruntled members have sought court intervention to halt conferences.
In the Eastern Cape, members previously succeeded in interdicting the provincial conference, forcing the party to appoint a task team to oversee the organisation until a new conference could be held.
Addressing delegates after the election of the region’s top five leadership, Mbalula said the tendency of members attempting to “force their way” into leadership contests should be discouraged.
He reflected on his own failed bid for the ANC secretary-general position at the party’s Mangaung conference in 2012, when he lost to current ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe.
Mbalula said he had accepted defeat instead of taking the party to court and was later co-opted into the ANC national executive committee because of his work within the organisation.
He also warned members against allowing themselves to be used by factions within the party.
“I did not join the struggle to satisfy somebody. The problem with factions are elevated to a point of self-importance. A faction is not an organisation, it’s a grouping,” he said.
“You can’t be controlled by a faction as an individual and be accountable to that grouping and institutionalise it.
“Once you subject yourself to a faction you take your command from a faction. You will die in the faction and you will not grow in the organisation.”
Mbalula urged members to unite the ANC and restore public trust ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.
He encouraged the newly elected leadership to work with members who had taken the conference to court, saying they remained part of the organisation.
He also called on the regional leadership to focus on rebuilding branches and ensuring the ANC regained majority support in the West Rand.
Mbalula said the party needed to urgently address challenges facing municipalities, including poor service delivery and corruption, if it hoped to regain the confidence of voters.
“As we hit the ground running in preparations for the 2026 local elections, we must be alive to the reality that the only way to deal with the trust deficit with the electorate is decisive action to deliver tangible outcomes,” he said.
Mbalula congratulated the newly elected regional leadership, including regional chairperson William Matsheke, deputy chairperson Lucky Sele, regional secretary Mkhuseli Jokazi, deputy secretary Mcebisi Moyeni and regional treasurer Nozuko Best.
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