ANC attracting wrong people, says former president Thabo Mbeki

Former president Thabo Mbeki says the ANC, since 1994, has been attracting wrong people within its ranks.

While delivering the keynote address at the memorial service of Struggle stalwart Rita Alice Ndzanga, Mbeki said every conference since then without exception had attracted wrong people.

“The leadership of the [ANC] Women’s League said we must never attack the ANC in public. She’s right. But I hope she didn’t mean we shouldn’t point out what’s wrong in society.”

“There’s something wrong with us. I’m not criticising the ANC, I’m criticising us. The population is saying you’re not behaving like the ANC we know, so something must change. Something must change in the way we behave as members of the ANC.

“Since 1994, if you look at all conferences of the ANC, up to 2017, all of them without exception and since we came into government, we have been attracting into our ranks wrong people,” he said.

Mbeki said the ANC was viewed as a stepping ladder to power, which is why people wanted to be seen as members. He said the way forward was to renew the ANC which he said would be a painful process.

“I’m making a commitment that we’re going to rebuild this ANC she [Ndzanga] was so worried for. We will renew ourselves and there’s no party in this country which has the possibility to defeat a renewed ANC,” Mbeki said.

Family representative Mosidi Mofokeng described Ndzanga as a feisty woman with strong convictions who did not take nonsense from anyone, including the apartheid government.

"She didn’t take nonsense, not from anyone, and that’s why she could endure all the pain apartheid had given her because she couldn’t just give in. To her wrong was wrong and right was right. There were no grey lines.

"To the ANC... she went a long way to fight for everyone. Nowadays she would say this is not what we fought for. This is not the ANC we fought for. I want to say guys, please honour her correctly. Look at what you’re doing and correct it because South Africa is not yet free," Mofokeng said.

Ndzanga, who worked as an organiser for trade unions in her 20s, also helped the ANC smuggle people into exile and training camps in Tanzania and Angola. She was also detained in solitary confinement where she was tortured by the apartheid government.

It was during one of her stints in solitary confinement where she learnt of the death of her husband Lawrence Ndzanga. 

In May 1969, Ndzanga was detained under the Terrorism Act and kept in jail for 18 months, after which she was banned and restricted to Senaoane in Soweto for a further five years. During this time, she was detained alongside other stalwarts such as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Joyce Sikhakhane-Rankin.

In October 1976, Ndzanga was detained and charged with recruiting young students for military training. She suffered a major blow when Lawrence died in detention in January 1977.

ANC deputy chair in Gauteng Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said: "Her contribution stands out at every moment because she didn’t fear to differ and didn’t divert from her views. She stood firm on her principles and was blunt in raising issues within the liberation movement. No one was beyond reproach in her eyes."

Ndzanga is survived by two children and six grandchildren.