As the briefing continued, three men stormed into one of the rooms at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg demanding it be stopped and a fight broke out.
The men were clad in Cope T-shirts screaming Lekota had no authority to address the media because he was suspended.
Takalani Raidani, who said he was the leader of Cope's Youth Movement, was adamant Lekota would not finish his term.
Another one of the disruptors identified as Mxolisi from Tshwane said they had told Lekota to respect the outcomes of the decision to suspend him.
"We said to him 'comrade please, go and stay home, respect the outcomes of the CNC [congress national committee] because you're suspended via the constitution of the party and therefore you have no right to speak on behalf of the party'," he said.
Mxolisi said they forced their way in because there was an instruction given to hotel management not to allow Cope members inside the venue.
"They've instructed management not to allow us to come in here. If it was real Congress of the People, why are they saying some people must not come in," he said.
Lekota said he was disappointed about what the scenes on Wednesday sent to the party's voters.
The party has been on an electoral decline with its seats in parliament having dwindled to only two, one of which is occupied by Lekota.
Cope Student Movement president Ndou Tyson labelled the group as "disruptors".
"These people are hired. We don’t know them. Only learnt one of them is working in one of the Cope member’s office and are in Madisha’s cabal. All they’re trying to do is save salaries."
Fist fights break out at Mosiuoa Lekota's Cope media briefing
Image: Nomazima Nkosi
Fists and flying chairs were the violent scenes that broke out at a Congress of the People (Cope) briefing on Wednesday as the party's suspended president Mosiuoa Lekota addressed the media.
Lekota, accompanied by other national party leaders, spoke on his apparent suspension that was announced by the now suspended deputy president Willie Madisha on Monday.
Lekota said the suspension was bogus as Madisha, along with secretary for communications Dennis Bloem and Cope secretary for elections Mzwandile Hleko, had been suspended on August 26.
As the briefing continued, three men stormed into one of the rooms at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg demanding it be stopped and a fight broke out.
The men were clad in Cope T-shirts screaming Lekota had no authority to address the media because he was suspended.
Takalani Raidani, who said he was the leader of Cope's Youth Movement, was adamant Lekota would not finish his term.
Another one of the disruptors identified as Mxolisi from Tshwane said they had told Lekota to respect the outcomes of the decision to suspend him.
"We said to him 'comrade please, go and stay home, respect the outcomes of the CNC [congress national committee] because you're suspended via the constitution of the party and therefore you have no right to speak on behalf of the party'," he said.
Mxolisi said they forced their way in because there was an instruction given to hotel management not to allow Cope members inside the venue.
"They've instructed management not to allow us to come in here. If it was real Congress of the People, why are they saying some people must not come in," he said.
Lekota said he was disappointed about what the scenes on Wednesday sent to the party's voters.
The party has been on an electoral decline with its seats in parliament having dwindled to only two, one of which is occupied by Lekota.
Cope Student Movement president Ndou Tyson labelled the group as "disruptors".
"These people are hired. We don’t know them. Only learnt one of them is working in one of the Cope member’s office and are in Madisha’s cabal. All they’re trying to do is save salaries."
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