As the nomination proccesses for this month's ANC conference in Limpopo draws to a close, incidents of infighting and intimidation have surfaced in Vhembe. A debate over the preferred candidates for Limpopo nearly ended tragically, when an enraged man allegedly lost his cool and poured beer over another, before stabbing him.

Mushoni  Tshifhango, a senior Thulamela municipality management committee member, a full-time councillor and the Thulamela ANC subregional secretary, is said to have been involved in a heated argument over preferred candidates to lead the province after the December conference. The incident happened at Ngwenani ya Ha Mapholi on Saturday.

The incident left Mr Nelson Ntsumbedzeni Tshitahe, an ex-Robben Island prisoner, seriously injured and still nursing fresh wounds. Tshitahe (58), who spent 10 years on Robben Island for his involvement in politics, said it was after a Ludzimatshithu ANC branch meeting in the village that their secretary invited them to his house for a political discussion. He said when he arrived there, he realised that representatives of many branches of the ANC were already there.

“Everything was going well and I also took part in preparing meat for the braai,” said Tshitahe. "As a senior politician, I like this type of discussion as it help the new politicians to gain insight about our history and it empowers them to mature politically,” he said.

He said a selected few of the men, including himself, were invited to a room in the house, where they discussed the current political situation, which also touched the question of who is to lead the province. “I could sense that the whole thing was planned, as Tshifhango started lecturing us on who is to lead the province and not giving us the chance to voice our opinions,” said Tshitahe.

He said Tshifhango gave those gathered the latest information on the provincial nominations as per district. “I told him that we were not sure what he was talking about and that was when I noticed that he was not prepared to listen to anybody," he said.

He said Tshifhango was very partial when he started to paint some of the leaders as being corrupt and others as being in a better position to lead the province in a better way. “I told him to his face that there is no one among the leaders whom we can say is the best as even those he commended have been involved in corrupt activites,” said Tshitahe.

He said Tshifhango "continued with his character assassination of the Premier and also went to the extent of saying he was worried as to why a person like me, who had spent many years on Robben Island, could support people like a premier whose government was corrupt".

He said he asked on several occasions for others to be given a chance to voice their opinion, but instead Tshifhango poured beer over him (Tshitahe). “After the incident, some [people] took me aside and convinced me to leave, but I refused as I wanted to engage constructively with others,” he said.

He said on coming back to the room, "he found him [Tshifhango] still speaking like a lecturer to students. On seeing me, he became very angry, jumped straight to me and started stabbing me on the head with a broken drinking glass, while I tried to block the blows with my hands,” he said.

Tshitahe said he was saved by somebody who came between them and the stabbing stopped. “Blood was oozing and I felt dizzy, but no one in the house helped me to hospital. It was only Rudzani Mbedzi, who was called from far, who made sure I was taken to hospital,” he said.

He said the whole incident is meant to silence and victimise him. “I am a '76 politician and do not subscribe to most of what the current leadership in Vhembe is doing. I always have opposing views and they dislike me for that,” Tshitahe added.

He said he would not be intimidated and the incident had shown him that there was still a lot to be done in educating leaders politically. “I will not be silenced and will not stop telling people what I believe is true. I matured politically and have seen it all during the days of the struggle,” he said.

The suspect, Mushoni Tshifhango, said Tshitahe was the one who assaulted him and injured himself in the process. "I do not know what this man is talking about. He just wants to tarnish my good name and portray me as a bad person before the community. The truth will come out and people will judge who is wrong between me and him," he said.

Mr Khathu  Netshifhefhe, the Vhembe ANC regional secretary, said he was aware of the incident. "As an organisation, we have our own internal discilinary measures that we use to resolve differences among members. We have a code of conduct that is prescribed for all our members that helps to strengthen the organisation," he said.

Thohoyandou police spokesperson Captain Mashudu Malelo said Mushoni Tshifhango was arrested and appeared in court on Monday. He was granted bail and is scheduled to appear in court again on 22 December. A case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm was opened against Tshifhango. He was released on bail of R1 000.

Meanwhile, Tshifhango also laid a counter-charge of assault against Tshitahe.