Hlongwane was national president of SANCO from 1995 to 2008,[1] gaining re-election on several occasions – his third term was won in 2001 after a bitter contest against Moses Mayekiso.
[9] In January 2006, SANCO controversially announced that it intended to propose that the Tripartite Alliance should campaign for a constitutional amendment that would allow Mbeki to stand as head of state for a third term.
[9]The SABC subsequently reported that, contrary to Hlongwane's presentation of the matter, the proposal in question did not have the support of SANCO's national executive, but had been pushed through by a certain group of leaders.
His deputy, Ruth Bhengu, explicated a long list of grievances against Hlongwane, including wide-ranging leadership failures and a basic failure to convene meetings; the Mail & Guardian said her presentation was convincing enough "to counter perceptions that [Hlongwane] was suspended because of this support for a third Thabo Mbeki presidency".
[15] In April 2005, the ANC announced that it would send Hlongwane to join the council at Sedibeng District Municipality in Gauteng, where he was elected as mayor.
[25][26] Although he did not win the premiership nomination, he went on to serve as chairperson of COPE's branch in Gauteng, in parallel to his duties as elections coordinator.
He scheduled a press conference in Johannesburg with Transport Minister Jeff Radebe, who had secured the facilitation of Talk Radio 702 by promising an announcement of "national importance".
[28] An impromptu press conference was held under a tree in the parking lot, and Hlongwane announced that he regretted his move to COPE and had applied to renew his ANC membership.
[28] Indeed, COPE had identified Hlongwane as "a possible ANC mole" committing "acts of sabotage which were meant to embarrass the party".