Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Mayor Gary van Niekerk. Photo: Lulama Zenzile
- ‘Newly’ elected members of the Northern Alliance will open a case of fraud against Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Gary van Niekerk.
- Japie Jansen claims to have replaced Van Niekerk as party president after an elective conference at the weekend.
- Van Niekerk said this conference was illegal and confirmed that the Northern Alliance had changed its name to the National Alliance.
Members of the Northern Alliance (NA) elected at a national conference held at the weekend, are set to go to the Humewood police station on Tuesday morning to open a case of fraud against Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Gary van Niekerk.
Japie Jansen told News24 that he was elected the new president of the Northern Alliance during this conference, replacing Van Niekerk.
However, Van Niekerk said the conference was “illegal” and the Northern Alliance had changed its name to the National Alliance in preparation for running for the 2024 national elections.
Jansen accused Van Niekerk of committing fraud, saying Van Niekerk had been presenting himself as the president of the Northern Alliance in council, when he had already stated that the party’s name would change.
This means, according to Jansen, that Van Niekerk was not the president of the Northern Alliance but the National Alliance and any conduct that he performed on behalf of the Northern Alliance, was fraudulent.
Jansen explained that the national conference was long overdue as it had to be held in March but was postponed by Van Niekerk to September without a legitimate reason.
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This is why they decided to hold an elective conference.
Van Niekerk, however, said the elective conference held by “so-called members of the party” at the weekend where Jansen and previously suspended Bevan Brown, were elected as president and deputy president, respectively, was illegal.
During a media briefing on Monday, Van Niekerk said the conference was held by expelled and suspended members of the party. The mayor emphasised that the Northern Alliance no longer existed and said the event was arranged by a group of individuals with former links to a non-existent party.
Van Niekerk claimed the conference did not meet the party’s constitutional rules for such an event, which states that a national conference can only take place when there was a majority vote by the federal working committee and the federal executive committee as well as a petition of 1 000 party members in good standing.
He said:
Reports suggest that this group met somewhere and ‘overturned’ expulsions and suspensions made by the legitimate leadership of the National Alliance. Only the federal executive council has the power to change a disciplinary outcome.
However, Jansen added that only one of these three constitutional rules had to be met and the party did so because they had more than 1 000 members who signed the petition.
Van Niekerk said the “real” members of the party had their legal team issue letters to the expelled and suspended members who took it upon themselves to host an “illegal” gathering under the auspices of the National Alliance.
He added that their “shenanigans” would have no impact on their deployments in council and the executive of Nelson Mandela Bay.
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Jansen said: “Even the cease-and-desist letter that we received from Van Niekerk’s lawyers is him speaking on behalf of the Northern Alliance when he himself said he is now president of the National Alliance.”
Van Niekerk said the “real” party leaders were perturbed by the “continuous attempts to bring the National Alliance into disrepute”.
“I am now addressing these shallow attempts to disrupt the National Alliance’s plan of action. We will not be derailed by this flagrant disregard for constitutional guidelines and protocols,” Van Niekerk said.