UNPACKING THE MEANING AND SYMBOLISM OF SUCCESSIVE COURT VICTORIES BY THE PRESIDENT OF COPE, MOSIOUA LEKOTA AND HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS PHILLIP DEXTER AGAINST ILLEGAL DECISIONS BY MBHAZIMA SHILOWA AND HIS COTERIE

The events of the past three weeks in the South Gauteng High Court, involving the President of the Congress of the People (COPE), Mosiuoa Lekota and the Head of Communications and Spokesperson, Phillip Dexter, have elicited a great deal of commentary from punditocracy and the media in general, not least from the members and supporters of COPE.

This growing interest in the affairs of COPE and its future, has come about because of what many believe was a nasty turn of events in the life of a nascent party whose burst on to the South African political scene, gratified millions and astonished scores of skeptics as COPE confounded critics and carried the mandate of over 1.3 million South Africans. The fledgling organization also became the official opposition in the majority of the country's provinces.

The recent concerns and disappointments are not baseless, neither are they exaggerated. They are a consequence of the dreams and aspirations of a broad section of the electorate that made COPE the third largest political organization in the country.

However, it would be an egregious error of judgment if those that are disappointed and concerned were to confine these developments to Lekota and Dexter exclusively. These are issues of mutual concern to those who see in Mr. Lekota, a leader that can stand up to venality, graft, corruption and unconstitutionality wherever he may find these vices, even if it is within the organization he is the co-architect of.

This is the zeitgeist that propelled COPE to the centre stage of our political life since its inception and we dare not transmogrify that esprit de corps. These happenings are about the principle of integrity (truthfulness, honesty and straight dealing with every one under all circumstances), inclusivity, the sanctity of internal democracy and unwavering commitment to the centrality of the COPE constitution, the rules of natural justice and the rule of law in general.

I will be the first one to concede that political deliberations and decisions should best be left to the political structures that are qualified to do so. Until the 27th of May 2010, that seemed, at face value, to be the common understanding of all COPE membership and leadership as threatened litigation was withdrawn in favour of a political process, until that fateful Friday at ST George's hotel.

It was here that the powers of the Congress National Committee (CNC) were arbitrarily, capriciously and illegally ceded to a national meeting of questionable merit. The COPE constitution of Bloemfontein is clear and unambiguous insofar as who has the power to convene a National Elective Congress. While this is so, a splinter faction of leadership of COPE, led by Shilowa, decided to contrive the facts and interpret the powers and functions of the CNC in a manner that is carefully calculated to elicit a populist and legally untenable sentiment from those COPE members who may not have the time or the capacity to fully appreciate the legal and political implications of a coup that was attempted at ST George's.

It remains our collective responsibility to stop the train of misinformation in its tracks and tell all COPE membership and the public at large all truth, underpinned by irrefutable facts in a dispassionate and rational manner.

To do so, we must deal with the BIG LIE that was concocted by Mr. Shilowa and his coterie perfected by some sections of the media and punditocracy and believed and used by some of our members. The BIG LIE avers that delegates at what was announced publicly to be a national policy conference of COPE could whimsically and capriciously turn that gathering into an elective congress.

Having deluded themselves first into believing the BIG LIE,Mr. Shilowa and his supporters went on to deliberate in that national meeting, feigning it as a national congress and went a step further to strip the President of his powers and relegate him to an ordinary member. In the process, Mr. Shilowa could no longer conceal his insatiable appetite for power as he illegally and undemocratically installed himself as the so-called Acting President, thereby causing immense confusion among our rank and file, and wreaking havoc to our public image. Something drastic and remedial had to be done in the interests of COPE and all that it stands for.

It was at this point that those of us who believe that President Lekota represents the true values of incorruptibility, commitment to democracy and the rule of law, advised him to approach the courts to seek relief, which relief he obtained with spectacular success.

In response, Mr. Shilowa has once again acted beyond his powers and announced that the CNC had in the aftermath of ST George's, "unanimously" decided to appeal the court rulings. He once again indulged his megalomania and ego in an incredible act of chutzpah to mutilate the truth.  This was tantamount to the usurping of powers he was never mandated to exercise in order to pursue naked ambition.

Following on from what appears to be a free-for-all regarding COPE's Parliamentary finances under his stewardship as the accounting officer of COPE in Parliament, the pursuit of costly and insensible appeals accomplish nothing more than digging the organization into a deeper hole.

Let the clarion be made, loud and clear that the President of COPE had to seek relief from the courts when it became patently clear that the only legal instrument that governs our relations in COPE, the constitution, was being expediently sacrificed on the altar of narcissistic self-interest that has no bearing on taking the organization forward or acting altruistically.

Under the circumstances, his was neither a gung-ho resort to courts, nor was it a vexatious or frivolous exercise against his detractors.

It was a carefully thought action to pull the organization from the precipice of implosion, relying on our courts as fair arbiters.

COPE has, from time to time, unconditionally reaffirmed its loyalty to the constitution and the rule of law. Section 34 of our national constitution states among others: "Everyone has the right to have any dispute that can be resolved by the application of law decided in a fair public hearing before a court, or where appropriate, another independent or impartial tribunal or forum."

This clause does not purport to be a panacea for political disputes within parties, but it instead offers those that may be aggrieved, relief from unfairness and persecution, and that is the victory that the President scored for all COPE members who can now sit back and derive solace from the fact that, the constitution of COPE is the single most important document that governs relations among and between them.

These court rulings have once again emphasized the urgency and importance of developing within COPE, a fair and detailed procedure that is responsive to the grievances of members. Above all, regard must be had for the need to attend to these grievances in a clear, consistent and timely manner.

When we read in the weekend papers that the Shilowa faction has decided to embark on a political campaign to discredit the President in light of his victories in court, we could only wonder why those that call themselves leaders of COPE find it convenient to resort to all manner of stratagems that are a carbon copy of the battering rams of the President of the governing party during his corruption trial.

To do this is nothing short of being bereft of integrity and speaking out of sides of one's mouth.

As we defend the gravitas of our party against roguery and indiscipline as well as firmly in support of all those noble principles that President Lekota stands for, we make bold to say we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end...whatever the cost may be, we shall defend these principles in structures of COPE, in COPEYM, in COPESM, in COPEWM and all our subsidiary bodies until we have put our party where it rightfully belongs-among the people.

As we remember Sandton and Bloemfontein, we draw our courage from the concept of Sankofa which is derived from King Adinkera of the Akan people of West Afrika and is thus expressed in the Akan language"se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki."

Literally translated it means "it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot."

"Sankofa" teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward. In our case, our past is the zeitgeist of Sandton and Bloemfontein. We shall reach back and gather the best of what our past has to teach us, so that we can achieve our full potential as we move forward. Whatever we have lost, forgotten, forgone or been stripped of, can be reclaimed, revived, preserved and perpetuated.

As attempts to dismember COPE gain pace and intensity and become more desperate and grotesque, our resolve and discipline of our thoughts will proportionally increase to ensure that all our members are exposed to correct information about the true state of our party and that in the end, COPE, the third largest party in Parliament, is preserved and prevails, for the sake of the electorate.

COPE will survive and win. COPE will not wilt or wither.

Sello Dithebe is the Head of Communications of COPE in the Free State. He writes in his personal capacity.

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