The contentious issue of land reform nearly brought delegates to blows during the African National Congress (ANC) elective conference at Nasrec‚ Johannesburg.

The ANC's commission on economic transformation has agreed the party must initiate proceedings to amend the Constitution to include land expropriation without compensation. This followed a rowdy debate that resulted in a scuffle that saw some delegates ejected from the plenary.

An argument on whether the party should resolve to expropriate land with or without compensation saw discussions on the issue degenerating into screaming and shouting match.

Sources in the plenary said tense discussions about the matter saw delegates on either side of the argument starting to push each other around in their attempts to be heard by conference.

It was at this point that marshals and members of the security detail of the conference were called to intervene and some delegates were physically removed from plenary.