The ANC has denied Bolani’s claims, saying it is “committed to running a clean campaign.” The party’s track record also meant that it did not need to stoop “clandestine ‘black ops to woo voters,” the statement said. Sisulu too, has dismissed the very story as “fake news” in a tweet.

The ANC might have won the election, but lost cities like Johannesburg and Pretoria to the opposition it tried to undermine.

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