Residents and ANC members from Ward 11 in the Collins Chabane sub-region descended on the ANC Vhembe regional offices in Thohoyandou on Thursday, demanding urgent intervention over what they describe as serious irregularities in the party's councillor candidate selection process ahead of the November 2026 local government elections.
Travelling in three buses, the group handed over a memorandum accusing the Ward 11 Branch Executive Committee (BEC) of manipulating the nomination process and ignoring the verified will of the community.
The protesters allege that the BEC attempted to influence the outcome of the voting, submitted the results before the Branch General Meeting (BGM), failed to officially inform candidates of the outcome, disregarded the verified results recorded by ANC deployees, intimidated members, and ignored repeated appeals from traditional leaders, community structures and ANC members.
In their memorandum, the members demand that all candidates be formally informed of the results before the BGM, that an urgent BGM be convened to ratify the outcome, that the ANC regional office uphold the verified voting results, and that disciplinary action be taken against anyone found to have manipulated the process.
According to the memorandum, community members believe Reuben Sithangu emerged as the preferred candidate after winning four of the six voting districts, while his rival, Rudzani Mavhila Munonde, secured victories in only two voting districts in his home village.
Community leader George Ramahia, who handed over the memorandum on behalf of the residents, expressed confidence that the regional leadership would address their concerns.
"We strongly believe the region will do right and take charge of the affairs in our ward. We came here because we want the democratic choice of our community to be respected," said Ramahia.
However, an ANC regional report compiled by Ward 11 deputy secretary Matimba Onica Maluleke presents a different version of events. The report states that the voting process was peaceful, transparent and well attended, recording Sithangu as the overall winner with 987 votes to Munonde's 965, a margin of 22 votes.
Although the report notes that no ANC deployees were assigned to two voting stations and that the branch secretary was absent from another station, it concludes that the election was credible and orderly.
Efforts to obtain comment from the ANC Vhembe Regional Office were unsuccessful, as calls went unanswered.