Chris Hani District Municipality mayor and ANC regional chair Lusanda Sizani believes the party’s provincial integrity commission is attempting to frustrate his ambitions of ascending to the ANC’s provincial top-five leadership when the party holds its elective conference in March.
The integrity commission last week recommended that Sizani temporarily “step aside” from all political and administrative roles pending the outcome of a negligence case in which he is accused of failing to safeguard his firearm.
The recommendation followed Sizani’s seventh appearance in the East London Magistrate’s Court on January 28, where he faces charges of contravening the Firearms Control Act by allegedly failing to store his firearm in a safe manner.
The charge stems from a March 2025 incident in which Sizani’s private firearm was allegedly stolen during a vehicle break-in in East London.
At the time, the state vehicle was being driven by his bodyguard while Sizani attended an ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting in the city.
Other items stolen from the vehicle included Sizani’s identity document, passport, bank cards and a tablet, all of which were inside a bag that also contained his 9mm pistol.
After reporting the break-in to police on March 18, Sizani was charged with negligence for allegedly failing to store the firearm in a mounted safe or carrying it on his person, as required by law.
Sizani, who is regarded as one of the frontrunners to succeed Lulama Ngcukayitobi as ANC provincial secretary, has since written to the ANC’s provincial executive committee asking it to “review and reject” the integrity commission’s recommendation.
In a letter dated February 5 and seen by the Dispatch, Sizani argues that the timing of the recommendation — weeks before the provincial conference — “raises concerns about possible opportunistic manipulation of the narrative”.
He describes the criminal case against him as procedural in nature and says it does not justify invoking the step-aside rule.
Sizani further claims the recommendation is “overly misplaced, unduly harsh and fails to take into account the circumstances” of his case.
He urges the PEC to scrutinise the integrity commission’s decision and “assess whether it is not an attempt to subvert the processes leading to the conference and its possible outcomes”.
On Monday, Sizani confirmed he had authored the letter but declined to comment on its contents.
“I wrote the letter for the attention of the PEC, not for the Daily Dispatch,” he said.
In the correspondence, Sizani argues that recommendations for his removal are misplaced because he is a victim, not a perpetrator, of crime.
“I respectfully contend and submit that this recommendation is predicated on a misinterpretation of the rules guiding the purview and work of the integrity committee,” he wrote.
“As a victim of crime, I have done everything in my power to report the incident and co-operate with the authorities.
“The loss of my firearm was a result of a criminal act by thugs, not a reflection of my integrity, capacity or fitness to hold office.”
Sizani maintains the charges against him are unrelated to corruption or misconduct as envisaged by the ANC’s step-aside rule.
“The nature of the charges against me are procedural and aimed at determining whether I was negligent in the handling of the firearm and my eligibility to possess a firearm in future,” he wrote.
“The charges are not related to corrupt practices.
“The circumstances of the theft, including the fact that I was not carrying the firearm and that it was in a secure vehicle, militate against a finding of culpability.”
He also questioned why the matter had resurfaced shortly before the provincial conference.
“It must concern the PEC that an incident of a year ago was never raised and is now opportunistically resurfacing just six weeks before the provincial conference,” Sizani wrote.
In a more contentious assertion, Sizani suggested that the theft of his firearm may have been orchestrated to force his removal from office.
“It is not far-fetched to think that those who stole my bag and firearm may have done so to exploit the step-aside rule,” he wrote.
“The PEC must weigh the merits and decide whether to stand with the victim or the perpetrators.”
Sizani further argued that the theft of his firearm did not bring the ANC into disrepute and that forcing him to step aside would undermine principles of fairness and natural justice.
“Stepping aside would send a wrong signal that the ANC is against its members who are victims of crime rather than standing with them,” he wrote.
“I urge the PEC to exercise its power and consider the facts presented herein, as I suspect that this outcome may not be an objective and honest consideration but an act of prejudice influenced by the politics of the upcoming provincial conference.”
ANC provincial spokesperson Yanga Zicina confirmed on Monday that the PEC had received Sizani’s letter.
He said the PEC met on Monday and resolved to send a delegation to engage Sizani on Tuesday.
“Once that exercise is complete, the PEC will receive a report, deliberate and determine the action to be taken,” Zicina said.
He also raised concern that the integrity commission’s report had been leaked to the public before it was formally deliberated on by the PEC.
Last week, Sizani took leave from his mayoral duties, days before the integrity commission issued its report, citing ill health stemming from what he described as a “lack of empathy from my own organisation”.
Chris Hani district deputy mayor Noncedo September-Caba has since been appointed acting mayor.
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