STILFONTEIN — The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the North West has been plunged into a deep leadership crisis after its 10th Provincial Elective Conference collapsed and was abruptly adjourned on Sunday, 28 July 2026.
The three-day event, which commenced on Friday at the Ngwenya Hotel in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality, degenerated into chaos due to intense factional manipulation and fierce resistance against perceived leadership imposition by some people with mischef interests from national structure.
An investigative probe by City Report reveals that the conference ground to a halt when an estimated 70% of the voting delegates became concerned and boycotted the alleged factional imposition. The mass revolt was triggered by a fierce refusal to entrust the incumbent SACP Provincial Chairperson, Smuts Matshe, with being the head of the organisation.
“Some members of the national leadership must not divide the SACP and bring transported factions from other organisations into the party by imposing Matshe, whereas most of our structures don’t want him as the political head. The working class of this country and the national democratic revolution needs leaders who can unify, accept democratic principles and all South Africans in respective of their diverse backgrounds,” one delegate stated on condition of anonymity.
The current provincial leadership structure, elected during the 9th Provincial Congress, includes Matshe (Provincial Chairperson); Madoda Sambatha (Provincial Secretary); Nick Maphelle (1st Deputy Provincial Secretary), Alfred Dikole (2nd Deputy Provincial Secretary) and Lolo Senne (Deputy Provincial Chairperson).
This dramatic collapse is not an isolated incident but points to a systemic leadership crisis gripping the vanguard party’s structures in the province.
Just days prior, the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) similarly failed to conclude its own elective conference at the exact same venue. City Report has reliably learned that the YCLSA structures were subsequently disbanded by the national leadership, highlighting a pattern of top-down suppression of internal dissent.
In a telling sign of widening cracks within the broader Tripartite Alliance, the African National Congress (ANC) completely boycotted the event. The ruling party neither sent a delegation nor delivered a traditional message of support, signaling deeply strained relations in the province.
In contrast, other alliance partners maintained their presence: the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) attended and declared full solidarity during political discussions.
The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO), led by Provincial Chairperson Tshepo Khoza, openly pledged unwavering support for the SACP ahead of the critical upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE).
The conference underscored the critical need for regional and cross-border mobilization. Ian Beddowes, representing the Communist Party of Zimbabwe, emphasized the rising urgency of cross-border organizing to dismantle entrenched systems of regional exploitation. Echoing the sentiment of regional defiance, Manqoba Motsa of the Communist Party of Swaziland reasserted the deeply shared struggle for democratic freedoms, liberation, and workers’ rights across Southern Africa.
The assembly also served as a critical platform for nations facing ongoing occupation and economic warfare. Representing the Embassy of the State of Palestine, Comrade Bassam Elhusing expressed profound gratitude to the assembly for their unwavering, principled stance against occupation and global injustice.
In a similar vein of resistance, Comrade Karen Mendez from the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba celebrated the enduring, historic bonds of socialist solidarity. Mendez fiercely condemned unilateral economic sanctions, calling for renewed international cooperation to resist imperialist blockades.
The SACP national office has yet to announce when, or if, the adjourned 10th provincial conference will reconvene to elect a stable leadership core.
