Johannesburg – The ANC has remained mum on a possible conflict of interest between President Cyril Ramaphosa and Dren Nupen, one of the directors of The EleXions Agency, a company tasked with running the highly contested elections at the 55th ANC national conference this weekend.
This is because Dren Nupen is the wife of Charles Nupen, a known ally and legal adviser to the president.
The concerned members of the ANC say the relationship between the president and Nupen’s family poses the risk of compromising the fairness of the ANC’s election of its top leaders this weekend.
One concerned ANC member, who declined to be identified, told “The Star” that, while the company has previously managed ANC elections, the stakes are even higher this time around because the conference may go down to the wire and that everything must be done to ensure a free and fair ANC conference.
“We need to do everything in our power to ensure the elections are free and fair. We are deeply concerned about a possible conflict of interest between Ramaphosa and the Nupen family,” he said.
The same sentiments have been echoed by the outspoken spokesperson of the disbanded uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association, Carl Niehaus, who has been vocal about the relationship between Ramaphosa and the Nupens.
“There is definitely a conflict of interest both in terms of the relationship that Charles Nupen and his wife, Dren Nupen, have with Cyril Ramaphosa. Charles Nupen has been known for being both a good friend and legal adviser to Cyril Ramaphosa over the last couple of decades,” Niehaus said.
“He was supporting and advising Ramaphosa during the Codesa negotiations and also during the writing of the Constitution. Nupen has been known to go around in social circles with Cyril Ramaphosa and take holidays with him.
“Similarly, Nupen’s wife, Dren Nupen, has been known as a close friend and associate of Cyril Ramaphosa. Dren is also known as an outspoken supporter of Cyril Ramaphosa,” Niehaus said.
On its website, the company lists among its clients the Government Employees Medical Scheme, Police Medical Aid Scheme,and Community Medical Scheme, Sizwe Medical Fund, Government Employees Pension Fund, Thebe Medical Scheme, Old Mutual Super Fund (Anglo American), and Rand Water Provident Fund. However, there is no mention of the company having worked with the ANC in the past or currently.
The company profile reads: “The EleXions Agency is ‘without exception’ South Africa’s most experienced elections facilitator, boasting broad experience in supporting the practice of credible democratic processes and accountable corporate governance within South African state and quasi-state organisations, corporations, political parties, and NGOs.”
The company’s directors, Dren Nupen and Bontle Mpakanyane, state in the company profile that they have been conducting elections in South Africa since 1983 and for the ANC since 1991.
Attempts to get comment from ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe were unsuccessful at the time of going to print as he was attending to ANC duties at Nasrec. He promised to arrange time to speak to “The Star”, while phone calls and emails to The EleXions Agency have not been responded to as yet.
The Star