International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has thrown down a stark challenge to the ANC leadership, declaring that only leaders of integrity deserve to survive the tightening noose of law enforcement. This comes as the arrest of senior police officers linked to the R228-million Medicare 24 tender rattles the upper ranks of the state.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ANC Mpumalanga Provincial Conference in Mbombela at the weekend, Lamola framed the arrests not as a scandal to be managed but as a moral moment to be met.
Leans into the storm rather than sidestepping it
“The leaders that our members elect should be leaders of integrity who can go through the eye of the needle,” said Lamola, who is a member of the ANC National Executive Committee.
His comments landed as a clear counterpoint to the ANC’s instinct for caution, with First Deputy Secretary Nomvula Mokonyane urging restraint and warning against “running commentary” before full reports are processed.
But Lamola’s posture suggested a different political philosophy that leans into the storm rather than sidestepping it.
‘Law enforcement institutions must act without fear or favour’
“Law enforcement institutions must be independent. They must act without fear or favour, without political interference,” he said. “What we are seeing now is a product of institutions acting independently, guided by facts and free from political influence.”
In Lamola’s framing, the arrests are not an embarrassment to be contained but evidence of a state attempting to cleanse itself, a painful purge before political rebirth.
“We cannot bury our heads in the sand because confronting wrongdoing may appear to hurt the ANC. Addressing corruption is not an attack on the ANC. It is part of its renewal and the renewal of society.”
‘ANC must not be a shield for the accused’
The arrests, which include a dozen senior police officers and a summons issued to National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Fannie Masemola, form part of the widening net cast by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) looking into the controversial Medicare 24 tender tied to businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Lamola was unequivocal that the party must not become a shield for the accused.
If I am corrupt as a member, the law must take its course. The ANC must not protect individuals, but rather protect and promote what is in the interest of society.”
His remarks arrive at a politically sensitive moment, as the ANC grapples with its renewal agenda ahead of the 2027 national conference, where questions of credibility, character and consequence are expected to dominate internal battles.
Integrity is not a slogan to be sung at a conferenceBetween Mokonyane’s measured silence and Lamola’s moral clarity lies the ANC’s enduring dilemma: whether to wait for the truth to settle or to stand for it while it is still shaking the ground.
For Lamola, the answer is clear. Integrity is not a slogan to be sung at a conference but a standard that must survive the courtroom.
