Ngrayi Ngwenya
Michael "Ngrayi" Ngwenya is a South African politician from Mpumalanga. He was Regional Chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) in Ehlanzeni, Mpumalanga from 2011 to 2019, in which capacity he was an influential ally of Premiers David Mabuza and Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane. In July 2021, he was suspended from the party for five years because of his role in organising a political rally in support of former President Jacob Zuma. Nicknamed 'Lomdzala', Ngwenya joined the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in June 2023. Immediately after Joining EFF, the ANC offices in Drikoppies, Mpumalanga rebranded from the traditional ANC colours to EFF colours and logo. ANC Regional Chairperson: 2011–2019 Ngwenya was elected as Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Ehlanzeni branch in 2011 with the support of David Mabuza, who was the Premier of Mpumalanga and Provincial Chairperson of the Mpumalanga ANC. He held that position until mid-2019, when the branch was disbanded in preparation for a merger. He was viewed as Mabuza's "right-hand man". In September 2013, Ngwenya was convicted of assaulting politician Collen Sedibe and sentenced to pay a R1,000 fine. The charges arose from an incident during an ANC meeting on 18 April, at which Ngwenya and another man had punched and kicked Sedibe after a disagreement; the incident also led to Sedibe's expulsion from the ANC. At another political event, held in Nkomazi in November 2018 during the ANC's 2019 general election campaign, Ngwenya was allegedly again involved in a violent confrontation with other ANC members. Faith Makumo laid criminal charges against him, alleging that he had stabbed her. He appeared in court in August 2018 but the trial was postponed. Alleged assault of Lindiwe Ntshalintshali In July 2019, violence broke out at an ANC meeting called to discuss a decision to disband the Ehlanzeni and Bohlabela regional branches in order to amalgamate them into a single branch; acting ANC Provincial Secretary Lindiwe Ntshalintshali sustained minor injuries before the police dispersed the crowd with rubber bullets. After Ntshalintshali laid criminal charges against him, Ngwenya was suspended from the ANC. Although an application to reverse his suspension in the Pretoria High Court failed, Ngwenya's membership was restored in October, when the ANC National Disciplinary Committee acquitted him of misconduct. Ntshalintshali continued to maintain that Ngwenya had assaulted her and said in the aftermath, "The ANC cannot claim to fight gender-based violence while they cannot protect us who are inside the organisation." She also raised questions about the neutrality of the ANC disciplinary process, calling it "highly managed" and arguing that one of the disciplinary committee's members, Bongani Bongo, was personally friendly with Ngwenya. Suspension from the ANC: 2021–present With David Mabuza, Ngwenya was viewed as a key supporter of Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane's bid to succeed Mabuza as ANC Provincial Chairperson. He endorsed Mtsweni-Tsipane publicly at an early stage of the contest in June 2018. In 2019, as the Mpumalanga ANC prepared to hold various elective conferences, Ngwenya was caught on video handing out cash to an audience at a party