Career
Lekota became a permanent organiser for SASO in 1974, but was imprisoned at Robben Island Prison for "conspiring to commit acts endangering the maintenance of law and order" during the same year. He had organised victory rallies to celebrate the independence of Mozambique. [3] He was released from prison in 1982. [4]
After his release, he was elected publicity secretary of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1983. In 1985, Lekota was detained and later sentenced in the Delmas Treason Trial. However, he was released in 1989 after the Appeal Court reviewed the sentence. [4]
The Delmas Treason Trial was one of the most important treason trials in the last days of apartheid. It enunciated policies to be embodied in the post-apartheid society like non-racial equality before the law, reconciliation with major politicians who had supported apartheid and respect for the rule of law. [2]
In 1990, Lekota became convenor of the African National Congress in Southern Natal and, in 1991, was elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) and its National Working Committee (NWC). [4] He was appointed as the ANC's Chief of Intelligence in 1991 and elected as secretary for the organisation's electoral commission in 1992. After the first fully democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, Lekota was elected premier of the Free State province. He held this position until 1996.
Lekota subsequently served as the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces from 1997 to 1999, before being appointed Minister of Defence. In this position he was responsible for ordering eight A400M military transport aircraft from Airbus by the Armscor parastatal in 2005, for a price of R17bn. He was also elected as National Chairperson of the ANC in December 1997, a position which he held until 2007. He was succeeded by Baleka Mbete.
Following the resignation of President Thabo Mbeki in September 2008, Lekota was one of ten ministers who submitted their resignations, on 23 September. [5]
Announcement of new party
On 8 October 2008, Lekota announced that the faction of the party that was loyal to Mbeki would serve "divorce papers", indicating a secession from the ANC and the creation of a new political party. This was duly carried out, making it the first mass schism from the ANC since the creation of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania in 1959 during the apartheid period.
The announcement was both rejected and played down by leaders of the ANC, with heavy derision coming from the South African Communist Party. However, the announcement of a new party for disaffected members of the ANC was welcomed by opposition party leaders, including Helen Zille of the Democratic Alliance and Bantu Holomisa of the United Democratic Movement.
On 14 October, the ANC suspended both Lekota's and Mluleki George's memberships. [6] After a further bout of legal squabbling with the ANC, it was decided that the new party be named the Congress of the People (COPE).
Leader of the Congress of the People
On 16 December 2008, Lekota announced his candidacy for the leadership of COPE: being the only candidate, he was elected without a vote and announced as the first President of COPE at the convention. His Deputies, Mbhazima Shilowa and Lynda Odendaal, were also announced.
On 20 February 2009, Lekota lost the battle for his party's presidential candidacy to the former presiding bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Mvume Dandala. Media reports suggested that Lekota had failed to endorse Dandala, and that party deputy leader Shilowa had played a key role in elevating Dandala over Lekota. [7] Lekota's defeat in the leadership race was described as "a humiliating defeat [to a] political novice" by the influential Mail & Guardian newspaper. [8]
Although, for some time subsequent to Dandala's victory, Lekota kept mum on the matter, on 5 February 2009, on his Facebook page, he spoke out, urging supporters of the new movement:
We should also not be distracted now by who serves in the interim leadership, because ultimately the people's voice will be heard. They will vote for their leaders, and everyone else will apply for a job and be interviewed to obtain any position. [9]
A week prior to the election, speculation mounted that Lekota was set on repairing back to the ANC, as numerous other COPE defectors already had, but he clarified his stance in emphatic terms for The Sunday Times :
There is no way I can return to the company of men and women who are dead set on destroying the constitutional democracy which I gave most of my life to creating. I will go to the grave a member of the Congress of the People.
On the same day, ANC treasurer-general Matthews Phosa denied allegations that the ANC had been attempting to entice Lekota back: "Officially, I'm not aware of anyone who has been sent to Terror to ask him to come back. We have never sent people to approach him."
Lekota, for his part, alleged that rumours of a reunion with the ANC, bolstered by a reported SMS and his supposed unhappiness with COPE's internal structures, were fuelled by the ANC in its devious bid to derail its campaign. He had not, he said, held any of the meetings he was alleged to have had with his former party.
At 02:09 on the morning of Election Day, 22 April, Lekota issued a none-too-subtle jibe at Jacob Zuma. "Do not kill this country for one man," he urged his Facebook supporters, making ill-veiled reference to the promises of ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema to take up arms and murder for the ANC President. "Vote for hope, Vote COPE". [10] Later, having cast his ballot, he announced:
my voteis [ sic ] not a secret. I voted for change, unity, anti corrupt government, better service delivery and hope for all. Do like wise [ sic ]. Vote COPE! [11]
His son Prince did not follow in his father's footsteps, however, voting openly for the ANC. [12]
Lekota did not take up a seat in Parliament after the election; instead, COPE decided that he should concentrate on organizing and building the party, together with Secretary-General Charlotte Lobe. [13]
