JN Reporter

Tensions are escalating within the ANC Mangaung region as factionalism takes center stage.

Bullying, intimidation, and abuse are among the daily power struggles faced by ANC members.

This situation follows an Equality Court ruling in Bloemfontein, which found Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality MMC for Public Safety, Sibongile Tsoleli, guilty of hate speech and discrimination against former MMM speaker Stephanie Lockman-Naidoo.

 Journal News has obtained a Notice of Appeal document issued on Friday, June 27, which nullifies the Equality Court ruling.

The original ruling, issued on June 5, ordered Tsoleli to pay Lockman-Naidoo R50,000 within 30 days.

Additionally, Tsoleli is required to attend a South African race sensitisation program approved by the South African Human Rights Commission within three months, and she must pay for the program out of her own pocket.

Disciplinary Hearing

The ANC in the Mangaung region sent Tsoleli a letter notifying her of an imminent disciplinary hearing, citing accusations of misconduct against her. In the letter, written by Mangaung regional secretary Sabelo Pitso, Tsoleli, who is also a member of the ANC regional executive committee (REC), was informed that a notice of accusation had been brought to the attention of the regional disciplinary committee per ANC rules.

An Attack on Tsoleli

Sources close to Journal News, who wish to remain anonymous, suggest that Tsoleli is being targeted due to factionalism within the Mangaung region. They allege that MMC Theodore Mosala framed Tsoleli by creating and forwarding a controversial message that she was then asked to share in a WhatsApp group. The sources claim the motive behind this attack is to remove Tsoleli from her Public Safety position to make way for someone else, ultimately positioning Mosala as the new Mangaung Mayor.

Currently, Tsoleli is experiencing bullying and intimidation from Pitso, who is reportedly using the Lockman-Naidoo issue as a pretext to dismiss her from her role.

Sources indicate that Pitso is attempting to issue a disciplinary letter against Tsoleli using  Lockman-Naidoo, who is currently not an ANC member and was expelled from the party as an excuse.

“Sabelo Pitso has not followed the constitutional requirements for a fair disciplinary process in terms of his own organisation.

“Sabelo does not have a right to suspend any member as per the constitution because of the hatred for Tsoleli, he single handedly suspended her with out any recommendations from REC and disciplinary committee.

“ Sabelo has been constantly intimidating her even in meetings of the REC.

Grounds of Appeal

According to the Notice of Appeal, the learned magistrate in the previous court incorrectly found, in paragraphs 42 and 43, that the words published by the appellant were objectively considered hurtful, harmful, incited harm, or propagated hatred. The magistrate also erred in finding, in paragraph 45, that the forwarding of the message constituted harassment. Furthermore, in paragraph 46, the magistrate incorrectly ruled that the forwarding of the message amounted to unfair discrimination.

The appellant contends that the compensation of R50,000 awarded by the magistrate is excessive, particularly since the appellant was not the originating author of the messages but rather an innocent party who forwarded the material within a political context. The appellant asserts that there was no evidence to justify claims of hatred directed toward the respondent or the Indian race, and that a reasonable person would not conclude that the words intended to be harmful or to incite harm or propagate hatred.

The appellant believes there are reasonable prospects of success in the appeal and reserves the right to further elaborate on the grounds upon receiving the court record.

Relief Sought

The appellant seeks to have the judgment and order of the court overturned, requesting that the court substitute the ruling with a decision in favor of the appellant. Alternatively, the matter may be referred back to the Equality Court for a new hearing before a different magistrate, as it is anticipated that an appellate court would reach a different conclusion than the initial court.

On Monday, ANC regional secretary Sabelo Pitso issued Tsoleli a letter to inform her of the upcoming disciplinary hearing based on the accusations of misconduct against her.

Tsoleli has referred Journal News to her attorneys, Seobe Attorneys, to respond on her behalf.

This is a developing story.