The African National Congress (ANC) is having quite a week. 

The party is in the Western Cape for their 113th-anniversary celebrations, which are set to be officially held on Saturday at the Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha. 

But like everything the ANC touches, there has been drama since they touched down in the mother city. Let’s take a look at some of it. 

Does size matter?

The party has decided to downsize and hold celebrations at the modest Mandela Park Stadium, which has a sitting capacity of just 2,000. On Sunday, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said that the decision to hold the official celebrations at the smaller venue was a “conscious decision” and not due to budgetary constraints. Mbalula said the decision was, in part, to reconnect with the party’s constituents in the region. “This is the constituency that voted for the ANC religiously without questioning. In the last election, they did not come out in their numbers, and we are here to rekindle our connection.”

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe echoed Mbalula, saying that the stadium was the perfect place to hold celebrations. “We decided to take the ANC to the people rather than look for good, fancy stadia. I love it, I must confess. I love it because it is the ability to interact directly with the people,” he said on Wednesday at birthday celebrations held in Grabouw, Overberg.

However, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has disputed this and alleges that the ANC is only holding the event in Khayelitsha because of poor planning and not for the sentimental reasons mentioned. “They booked it because they were too incompetent to book any other venue in time. They only tried to book Cape Town Stadium in mid-November 2024! It was already booked for a Stormers game. Then they tried Athlone Stadium. It was also booked for the Klopse Carnival,” Hill-Lewis said on X. Yikes!

Mashatile vs everyone, seemingly

Meanwhile, ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile has raised the ire of the Democratic Alliance (DA) leadership after he claimed that the Western Cape government did nothing for residents of Khayelitsha and Gugulethu. Mashatile made these comments on Sunday after attending a church service with regional ANC leaders at the Andrew Losaba Methodist Church in False Bay. “We know that the ANC is not in charge of the Western Cape, and the government of the Western Cape is neglecting areas like Khayelitsha,” Mashatile claimed. The claim seemingly enraged DA Federal Chairperson Helen Zille, who fired back on X, calling the claims “bullsh*t”. 

Then, on Tuesday afternoon, Mashatile’s bodyguards were accused of manhandling a man who wanted to enter his home while the deputy president was visiting the man’s mother, who runs a community soup kitchen. Mashatile has since apologised, but it is worrying how he’s never too far behind whenever we hear of VIP protection members abusing their power. 

Zuma wants back in

Is it even a real birthday party without unwanted guests? Well, former ANC President Jacob Zuma, who is now leading the uMkhonto we Sizwe Party, wants to get back into the party. The ANC expelled Zuma last year for his role in forming the MK Party, which ate away at the ANC’s national and KwaZulu Natal provincial majority in last year’s election. 

Now, Zuma is fighting that expulsion, giving the ANC until 31 January to reinstate him. His lawyers wrote to Mbalula, demanding reasons for his expulsion. Mbalula, speaking at the party’s January 8th celebration on Robben Island, called Zuma a “mischievous and ridiculous old man who thrives on disunity for his own interests.”🤭

The ANC has much to reflect on as Africa’s oldest liberation movement. The smaller, more subdued celebrations show that they’re feeling the heat. Let’s hope that as they reflect, they choose to serve South Africans and not themselves. Only then will they see another 113 years.