Why Mbalula was booed

Manana accused of orchestrating jeering in Kimberley

- By Mawande AmaShabalala

Fresh details on why ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula was booed by members of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) during their national general council (NGC) in Kimberley, North Cape, emerged this week.

Mbalula has allegedly pointed a finger at his ally and head of organising Mdu Manana, accusing him of orchestrating the edifying spectacles to embarrass him after he stripped him of the powers he arrogated himself to audit the branches of the ANC.

Several senior ANC members who did not want to be named claimed that Manana engineered Mbalula's heckling after the Luthuli House boss discovered that he had been manipulating regional conferences outcomes for his own selfish and narrow political ambitions to replace him as the organisation's next secretary-general (SG).

The bubbling flareup, punctuated by a chorus of boos against Mbalula from ANCYL delegates in Mpumalanga at the NGC in Kimberley, was not a spontaneous revolt, according to insiders. Rather, they said, it was an orchestrated payback after Mbalula rebuffed Manana's "dirty work"- for manipulating conference processes to advance his ambitions to succeed him at the party's next national elective conference in 2027.

Sources allege that Manana orchestrated the booing and jeering, determined to “teach Mbalula a lesson” for standing in his way.

Our moles at Luthuli House, where the two men work daily, painted a picture of a relationship soured by unchecked ambition. They alleged that Manana's ambition for political elevation is getting out of hand, and he is dragging Mbalula's name through the mud to get ahead.

Among other senior leaders who have raised the red flag about Manana's alleged interference was Eastern Cape provincial chairperson Oscar Mabuyane.