The Congress of the People (Cope) on Tuesday apologized unconditionally to ANC president Jacob Zuma for remarks made by two of its leaders at a Mthatha public meeting on Friday.

The reported remarks by Cope youth leader Anele Mda and another Cope leader Willie Madisha was discussed at the leadership core's regular weekly meeting on Monday, Cope said in a statement.

"Cope subscribes, without any reservation, to the principle of the independence of the judiciary and respects its findings.
"Therefore the remarks by Ms Mda and Mr Madisha are withdrawn unconditionally and a full apology is extended to the president of the ANC and his party," Cope said.

Mda reportedly called Zuma "a rapist" and said if the ANC was re-elected into government under "President Zuma", "rape would no longer be a criminal offence".

In the same meeting, Madisha reportedly called Zuma "SA's Stalin."

In its statement on Tuesday, Cope also rejected media reports of alleged leadership tensions within the party.

A report in a Sunday newspaper to the effect that there were tensions between Mbhazima Shilowa, Terror Lekota and Mluleki George "is baseless and is devoid of any truth".

"For the record, there are no camps or factions within Cope. The leadership of Cope is committed to working as a team in order to build a strong organisation.

"To that extent, the finalisation of leadership is a task of our national conference," it said.

Monday's meeting had also been briefed by the conference preparatory committee on progress with the preparations for Cope's inaugural conference from December 13 to 16 in Bloemfontein.

"We remain of the view that the inaugural conference will give all South Africans an opportunity to help build a new inclusive organisations and shape their own future.

"We are now finalising the allocation of delegates to provinces, the congress of the youth, the congress of women, sectors and stakeholders, and local and international guests."

On building the organisation, Cope said the steering committee was encouraged by the work being done on the ground.

"The party continues to grow and we believe that our central message of hope and that 'Cope is a party of the future and a home for all South Africans' seems to resonate with the broader public."

A progress report to finalise Cope's policy documents by next Monday was tabled.

"In addition to discussions about what our party stands for and its ideology, we are developing themes that will distinguish us from any other party in the country.

"Some of the key policy areas under consideration includes constitution and electoral reform, macro economic policy, industrial policy and development strategy, reform of the criminal justice system, strengthening government services such as health, education, water and sanitation, and international relations.

"These will form the basis of the discussions in provinces in preparation for the congress and the general elections," Cope said.