Gangster State

was viewed by some as the true power behind Matosa.
In public, Mandela tried to be as diplomatic about the crisis as he
could. ‘Of course, healthy competition between individuals for election
posts is a natural part of any democratic organisation,’ he said at an
ANC gathering in November 1996 , in reference to the fighting in the
Free State. ‘But when personal competition starts to absorb all one’s
energies, when political programmes are forgotten and when solid
grassroots work is neglected, then matters become very serious.’^22
To help quash hostilities, the national leadership decided to redeploy
Lekota to Cape Town, where, in February 1997 , he became
chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).^23 Ivy
Matsepe-Casaburri, then board chair of the South African
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), was appointed as the Free State’s
new premier.^24
Because the ANC had also dissolved the Free State PEC, a special
elective conference was convened in February 1997. It was held in
Welkom, a stronghold for the northern camp, but by now the national
leadership’s interventions had weakened Magashule’s faction. Lodge
described the event as a ‘sullen’ affair,^25 and one can understand why
Free State party members would have been less than enthusiastic,
given the lashing that both factions had recently received from their
political seniors.
The national leadership, which hoped to finally achieve its ideal of
having the positions of chair and premier reside in one person,
nominated Matsepe-Casaburri to lead the party in the province. But
Zingile Dingane, a Lekota ally, comfortably beat Matsepe-Casaburri to
become the new chair. The conference was a resounding victory for the
southerners, who won practically all the positions up for grabs and