The Economic Freedom Fighters’s (EFF’s) brand of take-no-prisoners politics – including disruptions in parliament and provincial legislatures – is finding expression within the party’s structures.
Weeks away from its first national elective meeting scheduled for next month, tensions are at boiling point among EFF members pushing for leadership positions.
Several commentators say the factionalism within the EFF, it’s lack of tolerance internally and lack of respect towards institutional structures – seen manifesting at both parliament and at branch level – is what the party’s members have seen in their own communities when ANC members fight things out.
Yesterday King William’s Town police confirmed that charges of intimidation had been laid by the EFF’s current interim provincial structure against a contesting faction.
This follows an incident on Monday when disgruntled EFF members stormed the party’s Eastern Cape headquarters in King William’s Town and announced a new leadership structure.
The group led by Andile Matshaya, who claimed to be their spokesman, arrived at the offices and demanded the keys and party documents from a receptionist.
Current EFF convener and co-ordinator Vuyisile Schoeman and Simcelile Rubela arrived on the premises while a press briefing was in progress and called police to intervene.
About five police vehicles arrived and attempted to calm the escalating tensions among the members of the party.
Members from the two opposing groups hurled insults at each other.
At issue is whose names will be on the lists for party leadership.
And in Gauteng a group of disgruntled members were yesterday preparing to go back to court to demand that the outcome of a provincial elective conference, overseen by party leader Julius Malema last weekend, be scrapped – marking the latest challenge to Malema’s authority within the fledgling party.
Last month the EFF saw its first breakaway formation emerge in the Free State amid claims it was under a “dictatorship” and that members did not have space to raise concerns.
Gauteng delivered the most votes for the EFF in the May national election, notching up to 40% (more than 470000) of its total one million national votes. The Free State contributed about 7% of the EFF’s national vote, with the Northern Cape contributing about 2%.
The disgruntled group in Gauteng, led by Lufuno Gogoro – a founding EFF provincial leader who fell out of favour with Malema – approached the South Gauteng High Court on Friday seeking to stop provincial and national conferences.
A last-minute intervention by the EFF – in the form of an affidavit confirming that the applicants would be allowed to participate fairly in conference processes – saw the matter being withdrawn, according to Gogoro.
But on Monday he said that Malema was “personally” involved in blocking his supporters from participating in the election of new EFF Gauteng leaders despite Friday’s commitment.
“We are briefing our lawyers. We want to set aside the conference,” Gogoro said.
EFF Northern Cape convener Aubrey Baartman said the provincial conference was expected to be reconvened in the next two weeks, this time with the national leadership actively involved in the accreditation of voting delegates.
Outgoing Gauteng EFF co-ordinator Omphile Maotwe said the matter of disgruntled members who approached the courts for intervention was being “dealt with by the party’s lawyers”.
Political analyst Daniel Silke said the EFF was “thrust into the national political scene very quickly as a result of the election”, and it was “yet to establish refined political protocols within its structures”.
Silke also said the EFF was “very much an immature political party with poorly defined political mechanisms to deal with disputes”.
SIPHE MACANDA covers politics for the Daily Dispatch and SETUMO STONE is political correspondent for Business Day
Rising tensions erupt across EFF structures
Weeks away from its first national elective meeting scheduled for next month, tensions are at boiling point among EFF members pushing for leadership positions.
Several commentators say the factionalism within the EFF, it’s lack of tolerance internally and lack of respect towards institutional structures – seen manifesting at both parliament and at branch level – is what the party’s members have seen in their own communities when ANC members fight things out.
Yesterday King William’s Town police confirmed that charges of intimidation had been laid by the EFF’s current interim provincial structure against a contesting faction.
This follows an incident on Monday when disgruntled EFF members stormed the party’s Eastern Cape headquarters in King William’s Town and announced a new leadership structure.
The group led by Andile Matshaya, who claimed to be their spokesman, arrived at the offices and demanded the keys and party documents from a receptionist.
Current EFF convener and co-ordinator Vuyisile Schoeman and Simcelile Rubela arrived on the premises while a press briefing was in progress and called police to intervene.
About five police vehicles arrived and attempted to calm the escalating tensions among the members of the party.
Members from the two opposing groups hurled insults at each other.
At issue is whose names will be on the lists for party leadership.
And in Gauteng a group of disgruntled members were yesterday preparing to go back to court to demand that the outcome of a provincial elective conference, overseen by party leader Julius Malema last weekend, be scrapped – marking the latest challenge to Malema’s authority within the fledgling party.
Last month the EFF saw its first breakaway formation emerge in the Free State amid claims it was under a “dictatorship” and that members did not have space to raise concerns.
Gauteng delivered the most votes for the EFF in the May national election, notching up to 40% (more than 470000) of its total one million national votes. The Free State contributed about 7% of the EFF’s national vote, with the Northern Cape contributing about 2%.
The disgruntled group in Gauteng, led by Lufuno Gogoro – a founding EFF provincial leader who fell out of favour with Malema – approached the South Gauteng High Court on Friday seeking to stop provincial and national conferences.
A last-minute intervention by the EFF – in the form of an affidavit confirming that the applicants would be allowed to participate fairly in conference processes – saw the matter being withdrawn, according to Gogoro.
But on Monday he said that Malema was “personally” involved in blocking his supporters from participating in the election of new EFF Gauteng leaders despite Friday’s commitment.
“We are briefing our lawyers. We want to set aside the conference,” Gogoro said.
EFF Northern Cape convener Aubrey Baartman said the provincial conference was expected to be reconvened in the next two weeks, this time with the national leadership actively involved in the accreditation of voting delegates.
Outgoing Gauteng EFF co-ordinator Omphile Maotwe said the matter of disgruntled members who approached the courts for intervention was being “dealt with by the party’s lawyers”.
Political analyst Daniel Silke said the EFF was “thrust into the national political scene very quickly as a result of the election”, and it was “yet to establish refined political protocols within its structures”.
Silke also said the EFF was “very much an immature political party with poorly defined political mechanisms to deal with disputes”.
SIPHE MACANDA covers politics for the Daily Dispatch and SETUMO STONE is political correspondent for Business Day
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