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A much anticipated elective conference to decide the leadership of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has still not seen the light of day, after a court interdicted proceedings, laying bare a heated battle between factions in the party.
The elective conference, which would have seen eight of the 11 regions vote for a new provincial leadership, was expected to take place at the University of Zululand near Empangeni between Friday and Sunday; but an 11th-hour court application brought by leaders from three ANC regions — thought to be aligned to President Cyril Ramaphosa — ground the process to a halt.
This did not sit well with Jacob Zuma loyalists, who went on the offensive as hundreds of delegates gathered at the campus.
The conference, now merely a consultative meeting, descended into chaos, with pro-Zuma supporters giving the cold shoulder to the party's national leadership.
This laid the divisions in the party bare for all to see.

#ANCKZN It seems the elective conference will be turned into a consultative meeting. Branches here are not happy. Even if the elective conference were to somehow continue, the results will be easily nullified by the courts - a repeat of 2015. @HuffPostSA
— Amil Umraw (@Amil_Umraw) June 8, 2018

After the former president appeared in the dock in the High Court in Durban for the second time on Friday, on charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering, mere hours before the elective conference was due to kick off, members of the ANC's Lower South Coast, Harry Gwala and Moses Mabhida regions launched an urgent application in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg to interdict the conference from going ahead.
Ramaphosa loyalists in these regions have for a long time been calling for the elections to be postponed, preferably until after the national elections, to allow the party time to mend the rift between both factions (and perhaps to tip the balance of forces in the province in Ramaphosa's favour). But the Zuma group, who were sure of their entrenched support in the province, pushed for urgency, knowing their preferred candidates would come out on top.
Zuma frontman and disbanded ANC provincial executive chairperson Sihle Zikalala was pegged to retain his position — ensuring that the former president's influence over the party remains consolidated.

#ANCKZN leadership arrives at the party's conference. @HuffPostSApic.twitter.com/RbYEFbqok8
— Amil Umraw (@Amil_Umraw) June 8, 2018

When news spread of the successful court interdict, the hundreds of delegates who had already made their way to the conference were left fuming. Some were heard saying that if the elections did not proceed, there "would be war".
Late in the evening, when the conference finally sat, Mike Mabuyakhulu — who leads the interim provincial task team with Zikalala and was considered his rival for the throne from the Ramaphosa camp — was not allowed to speak. He was drowned out by infuriated Zuma loyalists in the crowd of delegates, who were singing "Wenzeni uZuma" and banging on tables.
Zikalala took the mic and restored calm, explaining the process that led up to the conference and the ramifications of the court interdict.
But when ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe took over, to deliver the conference's opening address, the meeting again dissolved into chaos. Mantashe is seen by many as a Ramaphosa loyalist, and the delegates would not let him make his speech.
Mantashe was interrupted repeatedly by pro-Zuma songs and drumming on the steel tables, with delegates determined to drown him out. Zikalala tried to intervene numerous times, but every time Mantashe tried to speak, he was heckled vociferously.

"If this is an ANC meeting, I will speak here tonight. If it is a factional meeting, I will not speak. Regional Chairpersons must talk to their delegates. I am going to speak here tonight" @GwedeMantashe1#ANCKZN
— African National Congress (@MYANC) June 8, 2018

But he was adamant he would address the crowd, in one instance even continuing with his speech while some delegates waved their hands at him, gesturing for him to leave the stage.
It was at that point that the ANC's provincial leadership made the call to have all media present removed from the hall.
An hour later, the meeting was adjourned. Mantashe did not give his opening address.
The rifts in the ANC are now undeniable. The battle between Ramaphosa and his predecessor continues.