Free State ANC suspends two top members

The Free State ANC denies the suspensions are a purge exercise

The ANC in the Free State has suspended Goldfields branch executive member, Vax Mayekiso, and a Member of Parliament, Sello Lithebe.

Acting Provincial Secretary Sibongile Besani says the suspensions are as a result of members contravening the ANC constitution. A number of high court applications against the ANC in the Free State have been cited as the reason for the suspensions. The court cases have apparently had a serious impact on the functioning of the party.

The suspensions prevent the two ANC members from participating in any of the party's activities. They can also not be elected to leadership positions of any ANC structures.
Full details regarding the charges against the two will be finalised within the next 30 days.

"The two people have been suspended for leading the campaign to put the ANC in the province into disrepute," says Besani. She has denied that the suspensions are a purge in the wake of the ANC's National Conference in Polokwane.

Mayekiso says he is not aware of any wrong-doing on his part.

More suspensions on the cards
Late last month, Free State ANC Secretary Charlotte Lobe resigned from her position.
Three of the ANC’s five regions in the Free State were involved in lengthy court battles over legality of the election processes.

A political analyst at the Central of University of Technology in Bloemfontein, Abie Geldenhuys, says the suspension of two well-known ANC members in the Free State is a sign that the party is getting rid of members viewed as disloyal.

The ANC in the Free State admits that more suspensions are likely.