After almost a decade of infighting, the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) has split into two.
The split came over shares worth more than R1.5 billion in its investment arm, Nafhold.
Allegations of misuse of funds have added to the heat as both the boards claim legitimacy and the support of past presidents of the business chamber.
Although there have been splits and factions within Nafcoc before, this one seems destined to become permanent.
A structure led by Nafcoc president Buhle Mthethwa has always claimed legitimacy.
However, yesterday a faction led by Lawrence Mavundla claimed legitimacy when it elected him Nafcoc president.
Mavundla issued a statement early last month saying Mthethwa and her first vice-president, Vish Maharaj, had been suspended with immediate effect, pending disciplinary charges for bringing the organisation into disrepute.
This was after Mthethwa and some of her executive members led a march to Nafhold's offices, where they handed over a memorandum that accused the investment company's executives of stalling the issuing of shares to Nafcoc members, and of not publishing audited financial statements for three years.
The federal council, Nafcoc's supreme organ between the chamber's national conferences, met after Mavundla's statement was released. It declared the suspensions invalid because the African Council of Hawkers and Informal Businesses, of which Mavundla is the head, was not a fully paid-up affiliate.
At a press conference after the meeting, Mthethwa referred to the leaders of Mavundla's faction and executive directors of Nafhold as "thugs" and "corrupt individuals".
Yesterday Mavundla's structure held its own council meeting, which passed a vote of no confidence in Mthethwa's faction. Mavundla referred to Mthethwa's structure as "hijackers who are new in Nafcoc and want to take over".
Mthethwa and the leadership of her structure were found, among other things, to have brought Nafcoc into disrepute by taking part in the march, and making malicious, untruthful and defamatory statements against Nafhold and its management.
Mavundla said that Mthethwa and her colleagues had been invited to the council meeting but did not turn up.
"Members are tired of seeing Nafcoc in the media for the wrong reasons," he said. "We deployed her (Mthethwa) to the board of Nafhold to fight for us but she instead decided to fight for herself in the street."
He said that according to Nafcoc's constitution, the president was not supposed to be salaried. Yet Mthethwa was paid a salary by Nafhold.
Mavundla promised that members of Nafcoc Gauteng were to be given their shares yesterday. This is in addition to five sectors in the organisation and three provincial structures that have already received their shares.
Nafhold's investments are estimated to be worth R1.5bn. Its biggest shareholding is a 12.5 percent stake in Tsogo Investment Holdings.
When asked to comment on yesterday's vote of no confidence, Mthethwa said: "We are not going to respond to parallel structures. Nafcoc has its own council."