Why Cosatu congress collapsed

A long-standing and bitter fallout between Cosatu deputy president Mike Shingange and his former colleague, Nehawu general secretary Zola Saphetha, is said to have been at the centre of the collapse of the union federation’s 15th national congress this week.

The congress was abandoned on Day 2 after trade union affiliates sympathetic to Shingange refused to submit their credentials after Nehawu served Shingange with a last-minute suspension for accepting a nomination from NUM to stand for Cosatu president.

Insiders familiar with the political dynamics in the trade union space say the manoeuvre was revenge for Saphetha.

Senior trade unionists close to both men say Saphetha believes he too was once prohibited from standing for Nehawu general secretary, blaming Shingange as the mastermind behind the plot.

“The war between comrade Mike and comrade Zola is old; it did not just start in this Cosatu congress but reached its climax because it has a long history,” said a senior leader.

“The tension grew over years, and it culminated in an open warfare over provinces when they were both leading in Nehawu, in which Zola won and Mike lost, and he is now being charged for allegedly having funded the losers who took the union to court.”

Saphetha confirmed that Shingange, as part of the forthcoming disciplinary hearing, would have to account for the events that happened in provincial conferences last year following prima facie evidence by a task team that investigated the incidents.

However, Shingange’s supporters think the charges will fail because proving he funded the members involved in the altercations will be very hard.

“They know that it is not true,” said one supporter.

“Although they will take him to a disciplinary hearing, they know there is no substance to allegations that he funded and arranged for members to fight his union.”

The conflict can be traced back to 2014, following the departure of Fikile Majola, the long-time general secretary of Nehawu, to the National Assembly, which led to the introduction of a new group of leaders from various provinces, including Shingange and Saphetha, who assumed the roles of deputy president and deputy general secretary, respectively.

“Then there was an ideological fallout because Comrade Mike [Shingange] and Comrade Bereng Soke, who was general secretary, became tight, and Comrade Zola was inseparable from the president, [Mzwandile Makwayiba], who felt that Soke was not providing support to his friend,” said a senior leader.

“Majola, who used to manage these contradictions, was no longer there, and the fallout between Zola and Soke grew bigger, and Mike aligned with the latter. All efforts to manage this fallout fell flat.

“Then it was time for the next congress, and North West sat its provincial conference and rejected Zola, and he complained bitterly, saying Mike was at that conference and led the process for his exclusion, and it happened in another province again, and Zola entered the race after realising that Mike and his grouping were taking him out, and he won the race for general secretary, and Soke, who was Mike’s best friend, was gone, defeated by Zola.”

The fight between Saphetha and Shingange continued and escalated more, especially after the passing of Soke in 2021.

Saphetha, at the time Nehawu’s general secretary, was excluded from the pre-burial events and did not attend the funeral service.

“The issues of the union and how he got taken out of leadership affected Soke’s health, and Mike never forgave Zola for the passing of his best friend, but Zola also never forgave Mike and Soke for plotting against him when they tried to block him from being general secretary.

“The tension grew over years and culminated in the collapse of the Cosatu congress this week, with Zola having the last laugh, at least for now,” the senior leader said.

Saphetha said he has no personal tiff with Shingange and that the decision not to back him for Cosatu president was a union decision, “not a Zola decision”.

He said Nehawu did not decide to withhold support from Shingange.

“We had a preliminary discussion with the other 10 affiliates of Cosatu presided over by the Sadtu president, and in that meeting we said we are retaining Mike Shingange, but his name was rejected by affiliates, and in the second meeting other affiliates said we will support you if you give a different name.”

Shingange’s allies dismiss the claim, saying Nehawu had decided to reject Shingange at their special NEC meeting before engaging other affiliates.

Saphetha said that placing him at the centre of the Shingange fallout was misleading because this issue was never raised before when they disagreed.

Shingange’s supporters insist Saphetha championed the “stop Shingange by all means necessary” operation.

“Sometime late in July, they promised to support Mike, but things took a dramatic turn when Zola arranged a special Nehawu NEC in August, where a decision not to support Mike was taken, but he was not informed,” a supporter said.

“At the Cosatu CEC late in August, Nehawu leaders approached Mike, claiming that other affiliates were opposed to him and that they had not taken a position as Nehawu, although they had done so already at their special NEC. This thing is simple: Zola will not rest until Mike is stopped by all means necessary.”

The congress is due to reconvene early next month, and a possible split of Cosatu has not been ruled out given the hardline stances taken by the warring factions.