"This is probably the parting of the ways," former ANC chairman and defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota told a press conference in Pretoria on Wednesday morning.

Lekota announced that he, and a group of like-minded individuals from around the country, will hold a 'convention or a congress' within the next two weeks to decide a way forward.

Without actually saying that he and his fellows were actually going to break away from the ANC, he went as close as possible to making a unilateral declaration of independence.

Backed by Mluleki George, the former deputy defence minister, Lekota said that he and his supporters would be setting in place a formal process. "We will be consulting quite openly and quite freely on the issues I have tabled," he said, "with people in the ANC and outside.

"If the leadership of the ANC continues in their arrogance, we will proceed to a consultative conference to decide on the next step."

Asked whether he was seeking marriage guidance or whether he was heading for a divorce, he replied: "We are serving today divorce papers."

He told the briefing that the ANC members now have a choice between the Malemas of this world (referring to Julius Malema, head of the ANC Youth League), or a more sober group.

He said that he could not think that the people of South Africa would abandon equality before the law or vote for a party that says we will kill you if you do not support this person.

Lekota said that he was leaving the space open for negotiations, but he insisted: "There is no doubt that we will not allow South African democracy to be destroyed."

He said that the process did seem to be leading logically in the direction of a new party. He said his concerns must be addressed by an organisation. "We must be an organisation. We cannot deal with the matter if there is not an organisation."

But asked about financial support for a new party, he said: "You don't need money — you need people to support you."

He attacked the idea of a political solution to the charges against the president of the ANC, Jacob Zuma. He quoted the Freedom Charter saying that there shall be equality before the law, and asked whether every person who is charged with a crime must now have a political solution.

He also quoted the Freedom Charter as saying the people shall govern, which meant that the people should be free to choose their own leaders. He wondered how that was affected by the people who said they would kill people who oppose their choice.

He said that judges should not be made irrelevant, by being told how to decide cases by the mobs in the streets.

He urged those looking for genuine, clear and established democracy to support his move. But he said that former president Thabo Mbeki had not indicated any support, one way or another.

However he declared: "We won't shoot them if they don't vote for us."

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