4

An early scandal

The unbanning of the ANC sparked optimism in the broader liberation
movement, but it did nothing to quell tensions between the two rival
political factions in the Free State. In fact, the animosity between the
two groups would only intensify in the years after South Africa took its
dramatic turn towards democracy and freedom.
In early 1990 , just before he was about to be released from Victor
Verster Prison near Paarl, Nelson Mandela met with ANC leaders from
the country’s various regions and provinces. It was an opportunity for
regional leaders to brief Mandela on what had been happening with
their respective structures.
Dennis Bloem recalled that the Free State was the last province to
brief Mandela before his release. ‘There were fifteen of us, including
myself, Sekhopi Malebo, Zingile Dingane and Papiki Ngesi,’ he said.
The northern Free State faction was not invited, highlighting
Magashule’s position as a political minnow, at least as far as the ANC’s
top brass were concerned. It also clearly signalled which of the two
Free State factions the national leadership would prefer to work with
once the ANC came to power.
At the ANC’s first national elective conference after the unbanning,
held in Durban in 1991 , the Free State’s northern and southern regions
were represented by two separate delegations. But seeing as the party
envisioned only one structure for each province, it was clear that the
two bodies would eventually have to merge to form one Provincial
Executive Committee (PEC) in the Free State. Come 1993 , Magashule