THE Congress of the People's Mosiuoa Lekota faction is allegedly investigating whether members of the Mbhazima Shilowa faction are all ANC moles

This came after the Shilowa faction elected its own congress national committee last weekend - and after reports that former Shilowa loyalists were negotiating their return to the ANC.

Last week, media reports indicated that Onkgopotse JJ Tabane and former youth leaders Lunga Kepe, Andile Nkuhlu and John Ngcebetsha were in talks with the ANC about rejoining the party.

Juli Killian, Cope's parliamentary whip and a Lekota loyalist, told Sowetan that by setting up its own CNC just as local government elections campaign began, the Shilowa faction was deliberately confusing voters.

"They are playing into the hands of the ANC," she said.

Phillip Dexter, also a Lekota loyalist, said people trying "to wreck the party" would face disciplinary charges.

Ngcebetsha, Tabane, Nkuhlu and Kepe would be "dealt with" for trying to re-join the ANC, Dexter said.

A source who did not want to be identified said "high up, there have been talks about this and quite a few shocking revelations".

"There has been a secret belief among many of us that Shilowa is funded by and works for a top ANC cabinet minister," the source said.

But Shilowa's spokesperson, Sipho Ngwema, said they were not ANC moles.

"There is a 'gogga' that they always throw around, which is to label us ANC, but we are pushing a Cope agenda," Ngwema said.

Shilowa's CNC planned to "root out any signs of the Gbagbo syndrome", Ngwema said.

The "Gbagbo syndrome" refers to the Ivory Coast's president, Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down despite losing the election last year. The Shilowa faction said his opponent, Lekota, is clinging to power in exactly the same way.

Ngwema added that Lekota was using desperate measures against Shilowa because he could not manage to get his own CNC together.

"Their CNC was also supposed to sit on Saturday but they couldn't get enough people together. They were inviting new people, who were never chosen at the launch two years ago, to come onto the CNC," Ngwema said.

But Killian said the Lekota-aligned CNC had not met yet because their lawyers had told them to write to all the old members, asking them if they still wanted to belong to the CNC.

"The party is going through quite a number of challenges. We had to give them seven days to respond," Killian said.