ANC veteran Frank Chikane has dismissed as “fake” reports that he is taking the ANC to court over the omission of his name from the party’s IEC candidate lists.
Chikane said he had no intention of launching legal action against the governing party over the Johannesburg mayoral candidacy.
“I wish to make it categorically clear that I have no intention of taking the ANC to court over the mayoral candidacy matter. I joined the struggle for liberation not to occupy positions of leadership but to serve the people of South Africa to the best of my ability,” he said.
Chikane has been named as one of three frontrunners for the position of ANC mayoral candidate in Johannesburg, alongside incumbent mayor Dada Morero and deputy mayor and finance MMC Loyiso Masuku.
Africa Daily reported that Chikane was among 51 mayoral candidates whose names were omitted from the ANC’s list submitted to the IEC.
Chikane urged political activists and members of the public to view the reports with discernment, describing them as an “apartheid-era Stratcom operation”.
“It is intended to sow confusion within the ranks of the ANC and, above all, undermine its image in the eyes of voters by creating the impression of a party permanently at war with itself and therefore undeserving of leading the city,” he said