“I’m still at the helm of this party,” Congress of the People (Cope) president Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota claimed with authority following violent scenes that played out during his media briefing yesterday.
A faction, which is opposed to Lekota staying on as president and pushing for him to vacate his seat, stormed the briefing, soon after which party members started beating each other up with fists as chairs flew while party banners stood broken.
Visibly shocked by what was happening, Lekota said the scenes that played out did not send a good message to Cope supporters.
A party already on an electoral decline, Cope’s electoral fortunes have suffered blows since the 2014 general election with the party currently occupying only two seats in parliament. Many have stated this is the death of the party.
But a defiant Lekota fiercely denied this yesterday, alleging that the men who caused the chaos at the briefing were a few members who were hell bent on causing disruptions within the party.
“This is not the death of the Congress of the People. Definitely not. There are a few individuals who are hell bent on... I don’t know what they want to achieve but there’s no way that the party is going to die because of this thing. It’s not [dying],” he said.
Lekota declared that despite an earlier attempt on Monday by Cope deputy president Willie Madisha and secretary for communications Dennis Bloem to suspend him, he remained the leader of the party.
“I’m still at the helm of the party,” he said.
“I don’t see how the party can just die. We’re not as strong as we were but at the moment our structures have been reviving at one hell of a speed,” he said.
Since its inception in 2008, Cope contested elections in 2009, when the party received just over 1,311,027 votes, which translated to 30 seats in parliament, making it the third largest party in the country at the time.
Unfortunately for the party, other players such as the EFF entered the political arena, and during the 2014 general election, the party’s votes drastically declined to 123,235, giving them only three seats in parliament.
The party’s downward trajectory has continued with Cope now occupying only two seats in Parliament, one of which is filled by Lekota.
During the briefing held at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, three men stormed the media briefing, demanding Lekota, as well as some Congress National Committee (CNC) members stop the meeting.
They accused Lekota of creating parallel structures, dividing the party, saying he no longer had the mandate to speak on behalf of the party.
Cope Gauteng acting general secretary Mxolisi Ntombela said Lekota had no right to speak on behalf of the party. “Comrade Terror Lekota is suspended. We don’t recognise him. The real CNC sat on Sunday. They’re not the real leadership.
“We came here to say please respect the constitution of Cope. Go back, sit at home and adhere to the code of conduct because you’re suspended. You have no right to speak on the name of Cope.”
Bloem, whom Lekota suspended, placed the blame at Lekota’s door.
“The events of today [yesterday] must be put squarely in front of Lekota. We spoke to Lekota months and weeks ago to say he must stop dividing Cope by putting up parallel structures. He’s not one to listen.
“He must take full responsibility. We’ll not accept or condone violence. When you’re not satisfied, there are other ways to demonstrate it.
“When it comes to suspension, we can’t be suspended by an unconstitutional structure. There were 17 in that meeting and the people who attended the meeting are also questionable and don’t belong to structures, which is why we’ll not accept their so-called suspensions.”
Bloem added the meeting that suspended Lekota had seven directly-elected leaders, six out of the nine provinces, including the women and youth movements.
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