The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal decided at its provincial executive meeting on Monday to shelve "invoking" disciplinary measures against pro-Jacob Zuma protesters who had disrupted several meetings recently.

Meeting in Durban to devise ways of stopping disruptions of public meetings by people angered by the firing of Zuma as deputy president by President Thabo Mbeki, the ANC decided instead to "intensify" briefings with its branches on reasons leading to his expulsion.

Several meetings, including a Women's Day address by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka in Utrecht, have been disrupted by people still angered by the firing of Zuma.

He was fired by Mbeki after Judge Hilary Squires found that there was a "generally corrupt relationship" between Zuma and Schabir Shaik.

A Youth Day rally in KwaMashu in June was disrupted, forcing ANC chairperson and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele to be escorted out of the venue after objects were thrown towards him.

After last week's incident, ANC spokesperson Mtholephi Mthimkhulu said the party was to consider disciplining those disrupting meetings.

However, after the provincial executive meeting on Monday, the committee endorsed a programme to explain further to people the situation surrounding Zuma's firing.

"The PEC (committee) came to the conclusion that explanation will put the matter to rest. We are confident that after explanation we will not be seeing any more of these unfortunate incidents," he said.

This explanation programme would be spearheaded by the provincial leadership of the ANC in conjunction with leaders deployed from the national executive committee.

"We started with the first meeting at the weekend on the lower South Coast in Port Shepstone," said Mthimkhulu.

The committee also "emphatically dismissed and condemned" reports that Ndebele had been isolated and had lost control of the ANC in KZN.

With acknowledgements to Sipho Khumalo and The Mercury.