A former ANC regional leader who left the party to join the Congress of the People (Cope) last year denies rejoining the ruling party following the escalation of rumours that she was an ANC member again.
A former ANC regional leader who left the party to join the Congress of the People (Cope) last year denies rejoining the ruling party following the escalation of rumours that she was an ANC member again.
Speaking through her lawyers, Landiwe Mantla has denied the rumours and maintained that she has not joined the ANC. Mantla’s lawyer Mzuphela Yeko told Grocott’s Mail last week that his client views the allegations so seriously that she is considering "legal action against the author of such false statements".
"These are lies which are published with the malicious intent to defame my client and hurt her feelings," he said. Yeko appealed to the members of the party who were recruited by Mantla to remain loyal to the party as she is still a member and "has no intention of leaving it".
Rumours that Mantla has left Cope initially surfaced last month when some Cope members intimated that the charismatic regional leader had tendered her resignation from leadership following intra-party fighting.
When asked about the rumoured resignation, the party’s regional spokesperson Dumi Zono responded by saying, "Mantla is still a Cope member". The rumours, however, gained momentum last week when the ruling party announced that it welcomes members who after leaving the party come back to join it.
Mantla was singled out as such member. Welcoming a tightly packed Noluthando Hall on Tuesday to the memorial service of the slain ANC Youth League regional secretary Oscar Dondashe, the league’s regional chairperson Scara Njadayi said that Mantla had rejoined the party.
"Some people said nasty things about the ANC when they left to join Cope but they are coming back to us and we welcome them, including Mrs Mantla," he said.
