About the only thing common in political purges throughout history are the stony-faced perpetrators who appear before the public to deny schisms in the ruling factions.

About the only thing common in political purges throughout history are the stony-faced perpetrators who appear before the public to deny schisms in the ruling factions.

Maybe these fanatics believe the prepared script they foist on the masses, but they ask too much by expecting us to swallow their blatant twaddle.

Premier Mbhazima Shilowa of Gauteng is the latest to fall on his sword. The good premier had the misfortune to back the wrong candidate at Polokwane and his days were always numbered.

Lest we forget, Shilowa is Thabo Mbeki's man through and through. It is now history that Mbeki lost hopelessly to Jacob Zuma. Mbeki is also no longer the president of the country, thanks to the shenanigans within the ruling party.

We have said it before and we will say it again: it is daggers drawn between the Mbeki and Zuma faction.

Shilowa did himself a huge disfavour by speaking out against the recalling of Mbeki after a high court judge implied the former president was involved in a political plot against Zuma.

But surely our new masters aren't so removed from reality they expect we'll suspend our judgment because - as party flacks did yesterday - they say there are no divisions in the ANC.