Benson Ngqentsu, ANC Member of Provincial Legislature and SACP provincial secretary in the Western Cape.
Image: Facebook
The gloves have come off in the Tripartite Alliance in the Western Cape amid simmering tensions between the ANC and the SACP ahead of the upcoming local government elections on November 4.
ANC Provincial Task Team coordinator Thandi Mkasi fired the first salvo when she wrote to Western Cape Legislature Speaker Daylin Mitchell, requesting the removal of SACP provincial secretary Benson Ngqentsu as the ANC Member of Provincial Legislature amid threats of litigation by his party.
Ngqentsu became aware of his removal on Sunday, August 30, 2026, when ANC chief whip Ayanda Bans notified him of the correspondence copied to her and Mitchell subsequently confirmed it. The ANC also wrote to municipalities after it summarily expelled its councillors appearing on lists of other parties.
This was five months after ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula indicated that members holding dual membership should decide who they would support between the ANC and SACP in the municipal elections.
Ngqentsu on Monday, August 31, 2026 said that when they were forced to choose between the SACP and the ANC, his choice was always the working class and its struggle.
“I, therefore, regard my removal from the provincial legislature by the ANC leadership not as a political defeat, but as a badge of honour,” he said.
Ngqentsu also said he did not steal public resources and was not entangled in the tentacles of the underworld criminal network.
“I would rather lose a position than lose my political conviction, the commitment to the class struggle, the struggle for socialism. I would rather stand with the working class than compromise my principles for parliament office,” he added.
The SACP decided to contest the elections independently of the ANC and Ngqentsu has been actively campaigning for the party.
“I am the leader of the SACP and have the political obligation to campaign for the SACP,” he said.
The SACP’s Cape Town district secretary Monde Nqulwana said they were backing Ngqentsu.
“We stand with our provincial secretary and commit to double our efforts to advance our working class campaign during these local government elections. We wish strength to the anti-working class leading the ANC now and beyond November 4,” Nqulwana said.
ANC provincial spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni confirmed a letter has been sent to Mitchell just as correspondence was sent to councils to remove expelled councillors.
Mtsweni said Mbalula has penned a public letter, saying that members of the ANC and the SACP should inform the ANC who they will be campaigning for.
He also said Ngqentsu was expected to be on the ground campaigning for the ANC, but it has become very clear that he would not be campaigning for the ANC in this election.
“The ANC then decided to take a decision to recall him as a Member of the Provincial Legislature and, indeed, a letter was written to the Speaker, and the ANC caucus was informed,” he said.
The ANC provincial leaders were expected to meet on Monday and Tuesday, and thereafter announce replacements for Ngqentsu and the expelled councillors.
Ngqentsu said he and his party were not taking the matter lying down.
“I can say the Communist Party has taken the decision to challenge this matter politically and legally. I have written to the Speaker informing him that I am challenging him not to be a conveyor belt,” he said, adding that he wrote the letter on instruction of the SACP.
Meanwhile, South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) chairperson in the Western Cape, Nokufa Connie August, was named by the SACP as its candidate councillor for Ward 18 in Khayelitsha after she was left out of the ANC candidate lists for the City of Cape Town despite intervention by national leaders.
SANCO chairperson Nokufa Connie August standing as the SACP candidate councillor after she was left out of the ANC candidate list in the City of Cape Town
Image: Facebook
August had been embroiled in a fierce contest with incumbent ward councillor, Phindile George, amid disputes on the outcome of community meetings for the area comprising Site C and Thembokwenzi.
Now, Sanco is withholding campaign support in that ward while retaining its broader alliance position.
Sanco provincial secretary Bheki Hadebe said yesterday the civic organisation’s resolution taken in 2023 re-affirmed their support and campaign for the ANC in the local government elections.
“The matters relating to our provincial chairperson’s ANC candidacy, including her previous disputes and appeals within the ANC, are matters internal to the ANC. Sanco has respected and followed the relevant ANC processes and, as an alliance partner, believes that the ANC is best placed to account for and comment on its own internal processes,” he said.
Hadebe also said the decision of any individual to participate in an election under a particular political formation is a personal political decision.
“It should not, however, be conflated with or presented as a change in Sanco’s constitutional position or its collective resolutions.”
Hadebe added that August has taken a leave of absence from all Sanco activities until November 5.
“This arrangement is intended to ensure a clear distinction between her individual political activities and her responsibilities and position within Sanco.”
