Mbalula’s ANC Report Blames Eastern Cape Internal Chaos on Secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi

Fikile Mbalula stood before ANC structures this week clutching a damning internal document — one his own party commissioned and now wishes it could bury. The report, completed after months of investigation, pointed fingers squarely at the organisation’s leadership rather than outside agitators. Eastern Cape provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi emerged as the central figure named for criticism, with the findings leaving veterans inside Luthuli House visibly shaken.

The report allegedly details systematic failures in administrative oversight that Ngcukaitobi oversaw during a turbulent period in the Eastern Cape. According to sources familiar with the document, key decisions were taken without proper mandate, funds moved without adequate authorisation, and branch-level governance collapsed under his watch. Mbalula, in his capacity as ANC Secretary-General, confirmed the findings were authentic and described the situation as deeply troubling for a province that carries enormous electoral weight.

“We cannot run away from accountability,” Mbalula told delegates during the briefing, his voice carrying a notable edge of frustration. He confirmed disciplinary steps were under consideration, though no formal charges had yet been issued against Ngcukaitobi at the time of publication. Senior NEC members urged the Secretary-General to expedite the process before the next provincial general council meeting, scheduled for later this quarter.

The Eastern Cape ANC has wrestled with factional warfare for several years, with rival groupings clashing repeatedly over candidate lists, municipal resource allocation, and regional influence. Ngcukaitobi assumed the secretarial role during one of the province’s most fractious stretches, inheriting a structure already strained by post-election tensions and depleted membership records. Critics now argue warning signs surfaced long before Mbalula’s investigation ever commenced.

One delegate who attended the briefing, a veteran organiser from Buffalo City Metro, described the atmosphere inside the room as suffocating. “Nobody wanted to look at each other,” she recalled quietly, staring at the floor as she waited outside the venue in East London’s CBD.

Ngcukaitobi had not issued a public response by the time this article went to print, and his office did not answer repeated calls. The question that now hangs over the Eastern Cape ANC is painfully simple — if the secretary knew, who else did?

https://x.com/i/status/2098979195380453559

goldjohn1606@gmail.com feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com