By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

Congress of the People (COPE) has terminated the membership of Johannesburg Council Speaker Colleen Makhubele.

The announcement was made by the party on Monday during a media briefing.

The party says Makhubele "lied" about the organisation being part of the newly-formed coalition pact, the South African Rainbow Alliance (SARA).

Cope said although it considered being part SARA, it didn't give Makhubele the go-ahead to sign the party into the alliance.

SARA is a voting bloc chaired by Makhubele which includes a number of small parties, including the NFP, AARM, ICM and churches.

Her face was seen on posters that were widely circulated online, giving the impression that she's led the party to join a new alliance, known as SARA, ahead of next year's general elections.

Just a few months after former COPE deputy president and MP Willie Madisha was expelled from the party, Makhubele has now been sacked from the organisation.

Makhubele holds qualifications including a Business Administration diploma and a Project Management certificate from Unisa. She is a chartered financial analyst, an Investment Foundation Certification holder, and has a Finance for Non-Financial Managers certification from Stellenbosch University, an Information Technology Engineering honours degree from Malaysia as well as a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from Milpark Business College.

She is the founding member of the Mzumbe Group and was the chief executive officer overseeing the company portfolios in ICT, energy, and manufacturing. She has led and served on several boards of private and state-owned companies, including the South African Post Office, but was axed in 2020 after she accused the then communications minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, of abusing her powers and acting unconstitutionally.

Cope approached her before the local elections in 2021 and she agreed to join the party based on its unified renewal strategy, which she thought could be an alternative for South Africa.

However, the party has recently faced challenges which culminated in party representatives brawling on national television.

This comes after party leader Mosiuoa Lekota was suspended with immediate effect for sowing division in the party. Lekota and National Chairperson Teboho Loate then retaliated by suspending Madisha, Dennis Bloem and the party's secretary for elections, Mzwandile Hleko.