Life gets tougher for Mphofela

Johannesburg - The man put in charge of the Peter Mokaba ANC region by the Limpopo ANC task team faces criminal charges. And he previously violated the ruling party’s policy by taking the ANC to court without first exhausting internal channels.

Sabulone Mphofela appeared at the Malipsdrift Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting Blouberg municipality Speaker Maria Thamaga over political differences in the run-up to the ANC’s elective conference in Mangaung in December.

Malipsdrift police station spokeswoman Constable Mmakoena Semono said Mphofela faced assault and robbery charges in connection with the disappearance of the meeting’s attendance register. She added that the case was postponed to June 25.

Thamaga had been deployed by the region to oversee the branch general meeting held at Mafefe village to nominate delegates to represent the branch in Mangaung. Mphofela is chairman of the same branch.

The chaotic and tense meeting resulted in the branch being disqualified and losing out on the opportunity to send at least six delegates to the ANC conference that re-elected President Jacob Zuma.

The Star has also learnt that Mphofela, a staunch Zuma supporter, had also been found guilty earlier by the party’s disciplinary committee for securing a court order against the ANC.

This was done in order to hold on to his position as a public representation councillor in the Lepelle-Nkumpi municipality.

Mphofela was slapped with a 10-year suspension from the ANC after the Peter Mokaba ANC region’s disciplinary committee found him guilty of having violated resolution 61 of the conference.

In terms of the resolution, party members who take the organisation to court were deemed to have expelled themselves from the ruling party.

On Tuesday, Mphofela pleaded ignorance to his court appearance and criminal charges, and referred all queries to the task team.

However, he defended his decision to haul the ANC to court, saying the previous Peter Mokaba regional executive had wanted to remove him from his position without following proper procedures.

Limpopo ANC provincial secretary Joy Matshoge promised yesterday to comment on Mphofela’s criminal charges and his taking the party to court once she had familiarised herself with the facts.

The task team officially disbanded the Peter Mokaba, Sekhukhune and Mopani regions that campaigned against Zuma prior to Mangaung. The regions were led by Lawrence Mapoulo, Shoes Magabe and Joshua Matlou, key allies of Premier Cassel Mathale and expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema.

Mphofela and other ANC leaders who are either sympathetic to Zuma or anti-Mathale and Malema were installed in positions of power.

They included former ANCYL Limpopo chairman Lehlogonolo Masoga and former provincial health MEC Seaparo Sekoati.

It is not the first time that Mphofela has been the subject of political squabbles.

His appointment as a PR councillor last year, after he had lost the contest for the ward to independent councillor Sefoloko Matjuda in 2011, had caused ructions among members of the previous regional executive.

The Star