The northerners wanted Marshoff to resign. They directed much of
their anger at Ngombane, she recalled. ‘They were saying that Noby
was a hatchet man and that he was running things in the province and
in the premier’s office,’ said Marshoff.
A former government leader from the Free State told me, ‘I phoned
Beatrice [Marshoff] and told her there is a character assassination of
Noby, and that she needed to do something about it. I said she needed
to publicly condemn the hatred directed at Noby before the character
assassination became a real assassination.’
Dennis Bloem, who was still in the ANC at the time, said Ngombane
was poised for greatness. ‘Noby was this blue-eyed boy and favourite
of Luthuli House. There was talk that he was going to take over as
premier after Marshoff,’ he recalled.
The tension spilled over into 2005. ‘There was going to be a cabinet
reshuffle, and Ace was going to be removed. It was imminent,’ said
Nokwanda. Magashule had become MEC for agriculture the previous
year, but his antics at the department had put him in line to be chopped
from Marshoff’s cabinet.
Marshoff met with Magashule and some of his allies on Monday 21
March. Those present from the northern faction included Magashule’s
right-hand man Pat Matosa, ANC provincial treasurer Mxolisi
Dukwana and Casca Mokitlane, a Magashule backer who later joined
COPE before eventually rejoining the ANC. Some of the NEC
members whom the ANC had deployed to the Free State were also in
attendance.
Ngombane’s name kept cropping up. The group was apparently
highly upset about his perceived influence over the premier. ‘Casca was
the biggest talker, he spoke the most, but Pat Matosa and Dukwana
nora
(Nora)
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