Johnathan Paoli
It could well have been a question of height and overreach on the part of KwaZulu-Natal Siboniso Duma, when he hoisted the Webb Ellis Trophy together with the Springboks Eben ‘Elizabed’ Etzebeth, leaving his Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube empty-handed and embarrassed on the side.
But the ANCWL, the EFF and the DA are not convinced that this was just an oversight and say Duma’s actions were deliberate and designed to embarrass Dube-Ncube.
However, ANC KZN spokesperson Mafika Mndebele puts it all down to height and not about Duma expressing ambitions for the Premier’s office.
“The Premier could not lift the cup higher than the chairperson and [Etzebeth]. There is really nothing more. It’s not like where they say the Premier must address, but then the chairperson stood up and addressed the fans,” he said.
Duma has since apologised for his conduct, referring to it as a misunderstanding and not a passive-aggressive slight at the Premier.
“Revolutionary greeting cdes of OR Tambo I profusely apologise to you as members, commissars and mobilisers of our beloved movement. Nomusa and I have a camaraderie spirit and she is the one who suggested that Eben is tall and I must put him in the middle and handle the cup together due to only having three minutes to finalise everything at City Hall,” he said.
Tensions and rivalry between the two politicians is said to stem from events last year when Duma was elected ANC KZN chairperson but did not take up the Premiership left vacant by Sihle Zikalala. Instead, the party opted for Dube-Ncube to occupy the position and become the first woman Premier for KZN.
DA MPL Dean Macpherson said Duma owed Dube-Ncube an apology, but this incident has also has exposed a fundamental weakness in the provincial government with faction fighting resulting in a split between holding office and holding power.
“The ANC is so heavily divided; we have a man who is not elected as the Premier, pretending he is the Premier, and we have a Premier who can’t be the Premier. It is a terrible position, and the ANC should surely intervene and condemn that sort of humiliation MEC Duma brought on the office,” Macpherson said.
In condemning Duma’s actions, ANCWL Deputy SG Dina Pule said gender equality was not just an ideal but a fundamental principle that the ANC identifies with.
“These regrettable actions not only continue to undermine the authority of the Premier of the province but also betray the principles of non-sexism and gender equality that are fundamental to the ANC’s ideology,” Pule said.
Duma also said that he felt the matter had been overly politicised and polarised even by elements within the ruling party, and had caused unnecessary tension before the upcoming election next year.
The EFF KZN chair Mongezi Gwala was the first to weigh in on the incident and condemned Duma ‘for persistent bullying and undermining of the premier’ just because she is a woman, and said that his actions exposed his misogynist character and ‘completely embarrassed’ the premier in front of the entire country.
“It is quite clear now for South Africa to see that Duma is intolerant and completely disgusted to be led by a woman. He despises a woman who comes from the very same organisation which he leads; how much more the women which he doesn’t even know?” said Gwala.
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