Lesufi and Nkomo-Ralehoko fall out over ascendancy to ANC throne

Deal's corpse is poisoning Gauteng ANC

- By Setumo Stone and Ngwako Malatji

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko are having a falling out after he allegedly reneged on their initial agreement to hand over power to her after finishing his first term.

As a result of the disintegration of their relationship, Nkomo-Ralehoko has now decided to throw her hat in the ring and contest Lesufi when the province holds its elective conference after next year’s local government election.

Lesufi and Nkomo-Ralehoko sat in a room in 2022 as two allies facing a common enemy.

The prize was the crown of the ANC in Gauteng, a throne that almost certainly leads to the premiership. The enemy was Lebogang Maile, the fiery Gauteng finance MEC who was leading the race with branch nomination ahead of the elective conference in June of that year.

So, Lesufi and Nkomo-Ralehoko, in a move of pure political calculus, cut a deal.

The terms were simple, according to multiple party insiders who spoke to Sunday World, Lesufi would take the chair, and Nkomo-Ralehoko would be his deputy. And crucially, after a single five-year term, the crown would pass to her because, as she is 56 years old this year, she does not want to lead when she is too long in the tooth.

“It was a classic ANC handshake agreement, built not on trust, but on the cold necessity of numbers,” said a source.

But that deal has now petered out. And its corpse is poisoning the entire Gauteng ANC.