Ace Magashule and the battle for the soul of the ANC

For years, Ace Magashule was one of South Africa’s most powerful politicians, a populist popular brand whose name was synonymous with the ruling African National Congress.

But now the former ANC secretary general is suing the party that has ruled South Africa for 27 years, after it suspended him for refusing to stop the investigation into allegations of corruption.

“No one will eliminate me from the ANC. . . I will not leave the ANC and I. [will] die in the ANC, ”he said this month in a demonstration by Magashule, which denies the offenses former President Jacob Zuma. Zuma was appearing in court in a long-standing corruption case. Magashule’s own trial is scheduled for August, months before the ANC disputes local polls scheduled for October.

Senior ANC officials have condemned Magashule’s “inappropriate, divisive and defiant” behavior. “He has been charged in a criminal court with fraud, corruption and money laundering and should set an example and set himself aside [other] ANC members have done so, “Jessie Duarte, the former Magashule MP, said in court papers opposing her lawsuit this week.

The battle for Magashule’s fate represents a broader struggle for the soul of the party led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is eager to close a door on the legacy of his predecessor’s government. At stake are not only competing views on how to revive South Africa’s post-pandemic economy, but also attitudes towards the battered post-apartheid institutions under the Zuma government. Zuma’s presidency was marked by a scandal over so-called “state capture” or the systematic looting of public resources.

Magashule and Ramaphosa represent opposite wings of the party. Magashule’s allies are known for their attacks on the judiciary, while lawyer-turned-tycoon Ramaphosa wants to temper the party’s radicals. “The divisions are so insurmountable. Either he or Ramaphosa, ”said William Gumede, president of Democracy Works, a civic foundation.

For the first time since the president took office in 2018, “there is a feeling that Ramaphosa is finally getting started, that even the corrupt are starting to get scared,” Gumede said. If even the highest ANC officials can be suspended, it sends a signal to the chain looters of broken municipalities ruled by the ANC at the grassroots level, he added. Dozens of party members are reportedly being asked to set aside the rules that apply to Magashule.

Magashule’s attempts to fight have also failed. He tried to suspend Ramaphosa as president of the ANC and, as a result, faces possible additional disciplinary charges within the party. While Magashule has been pretending to be a tactical master, Garry Kasparov, the great Russian chess master, mocked an image of his social media posing on a chessboard, with a pawn in the hand, as an “opening of photosoperatives”.

“Ace is isolating himself even among anti-ramaphosas,” said Dr. Ralph Mathekga, a political analyst. There are more and more former allies of Magashule and Zuma studying their future careers under Ramaphosa, he said. But this realignment does not indicate a deeper approach to the party’s dependence on patronage policy, he added.

Outside of the revolts in Magashule’s fight with Ramaphosa, South African newspapers have in recent days been filled with scandals over ANC links to allegedly counterfeit tenders, from pandemic funds to power supplies emergency. “The model doesn’t really change,” Mathekga said.

Magashule’s own lawsuit against his suspension paints a picture of the party’s power-hungry elites regardless of their faction. “The real reason behind my purge is the desire to move away, by hook or twist, from the almighty position of [secretary-general], thus paving the way for the re-election of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his faction. . . it is facilitated, ”he said.

These messages try to sow unrest among party ranks rather than win them over in the courts, analysts said. Ramaphosa is running for re-election as party leader late next year. While it has strong support for the ANC’s national executive committee, a group of about 80 senior officials, and its group of lawmakers, it has less support among grassroots party branches.

Magashule’s long-term hope is to convince members to hold a special early vote to oust Ramaphosa, though it is unlikely, analysts said. Magashule’s “best bet” is to try these maneuvers within the party instead of breaking up, Mathekga said.

As one of the oldest political parties in Africa, the ANC has suffered many splits. But without access to the party brand and the acquisition of state resources, they have ended up mostly in electoral oblivion. Only one, the fighters for economic freedom, made up of left-wing exiles from the ANC youth wing, has never garnered more than a million votes in the general election. The EFF obtained more than 10% of the 17.4 million votes cast in the last 2019 national poll.

The ANC won just over 57% of the vote in 2019, with low turnout. A smaller ANC and a smaller voting base favor long-term getaways, as does the infested post-pandemic economic crisis, Gumede said. “People are angry and unhappy. . . the ANC base is absolutely fighting ”.