Windbag Mbalula’s stupidity is emblematic of the ANC’s plunge into ignominy

This lowly newspaperman had intended to let the hapless ANC be for a little bit. The descent of South Africa’s erstwhile governing party makes this an impossible ambition. It is quite a thing when a once-revered brand is reduced to the butt of jokes by friend and foe. So exasperated are South Africans with the party that they often salve their anger by just laughing at the ANC and its leaders.

For one to grasp this decay you just have to look at two photographs. One is of the ANC delegation to the Groote Schuur talks in August 1990, the first official contact between the party and the National Party government, and juxtapose it with any picture of current ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

In the first picture is delegation leader Nelson Mandela surrounded by recently returned exiles, newly freed prisoners as well as the United Democratic Front leadership. It was an A-Team of the liberation movement, sent out to bat in the first innings against the oppressor. That is why it is important to then look at a picture of Mbalula. Take a look, this lowly newspaperman urges you. One need not even hear him speak to gauge the diminution of brain power in the ANC. Just think about it: if the Groote Schuur talks were being held today Mbalula would probably be in that deputation. Imagine.

There is no starker demonstration of the ANC’s race to the bottom than the debacle over the registration of candidates for the 4 November local government elections, a mess that can be laid squarely at the door of Mbalula. Here is a party that is one of a handful that have contested every election and almost every single by-election held since 1994, failing to perform the simple task of clicking on the “submit” button. If there was any formation that should have the experience and machinery to do the menial task, never mind run an effective campaign, it is this party.  The ANC chose the path of blunder, a move that will cost it several municipalities and affect the balance of power in others. 

But it was the ANC’s response that showed why it has really become the punchline in a bad joke. It blamed the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for its own failures and then went to court to fight a battle it was never going to win. The windbag at Luthuli, with whom the buck really stops, was blustering non-stop as he dishonestly pointed fingers at the IEC.

He was joined by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who foolishly echoed the windbag’s assertions. As everyone expected, the ANC was given a bloody nose by the courts this week, but still insists it “will exercise its legal rights and pursue the appropriate appeal process. Our legal representatives will engage the court on the legal questions arising from the judgment.”

What was priceless in the ANC’s response to the court judgment was this bit: “We call on all ANC members, leaders and supporters to remain calm and disciplined, and to refrain from public commentary that could prejudice or interfere with the ongoing legal process.”

Remain calm and disciplined? As opposed to what? Unless the ANC was expecting its members, leaders and supporters to pour onto the streets with tyres and petrol bombs to protest against the judgment or to lay siege to the IEC’s offices, this makes no sense. The statement also said that the “the ANC remains fully committed to the 2026 Local Government Elections. Our focus remains on presenting our programme to South Africans, engaging communities and earning their support through our record and our policies for the betterment of communities.” Yet more nonsensical bits of waffle. That the ANC is telling us that it is “fully committed” to the polls suggests that there was a possibility of them not taking part.

Brazen

Another scene playing out to the amusement of observers was the brawl between Mbalula and NEC member Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. This flows from the latter’s public claim that Mbalula paid money to delegates at the 2022 ANC national conference to secure his and Ramaphosa’s election to the party’s top jobs. Dlamini Zuma is now defending a lawsuit by Mbalula.

In her papers she claims that there were long queues at the conference clinic, with Mbalula dishing out cash to eager delegates. She has secured an affidavit from a recipient of the dosh, who is even willing to testify in court. This is an extraordinary development. While vote buying at the ANC’s regional, provincial and national conferences is taken for granted, this is the first time that a party grandee is putting meat to the bone. 

What is really funny about this is the image of Mbalula brazenly setting up a stall to dish out money, much like a construction foreman paying exploitation wages to his labourers. That is the level of sophistication of the ANC secretary-general.

There is a lot wrong with the ANC: corruption, incompetence, arrogance, a sense of impunity and disregard for communities. So the stupidity of its secretary-general should ordinarily be the least of our concerns. The issue though is that this stupidity is emblematic of the organisation’s descent.

The corruption is done stupidly, the arrogance shows through in the most stupid ways and the impunity is carried out foolishly. Incompetent people are stupidly placed, given responsibilities that they shouldn’t be, showing a gross disregard for the people.

The ANC’s plunge into ignominy is funny, but it isn’t. We laugh at this punchline to a bad joke, but it has a real impact on our lives and will continue to do so. The party will be hit hard in the forthcoming elections but it will still be playing an influential role in the lives of the people. It should stop seeing itself as an entertainment channel and treat its political task with a heck of a lot more seriousness. DM