ANC leadership risks contempt charges over cadre deployment documents

The ANC’s Top 7 could be arrested for being in contempt of court should the party fail to hand over critical cadre deployment records to the DA on Monday.

The ANC had been ordered to provide key cadre deployment documents to the DA by the Constitutional Court within five working days, the last day being today (Monday).

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Zuma arrest now precedent

According to DA shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration Dr Leon Shreiber the Constitutional Court would be compelled to apply the same precedent as it did with former President Jacob Zuma when he was in contempt of court.

“We are very clear that if they do not hand over the documents they will be in contempt of court and violating the rule of law. We would then not hesitate to file contempt of court charges against ANC leadership and you would remember that an important precedent was set in the Zuma matter,” Shreiber said.

Shreiber said the affidavit in the matter had been signed by ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula.

“He is the person delegated by the ANC on this matter and we would, obviously, [be seeking] additional legal advice on the implications for the ANC entire leadership because this is not something one person decides,” he said.

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DA declines extension

According to Shreiber the ANC had asked for more time to gather the documents and hand them over at a later stage. But the DA had denied this request.

“Their lawyers phoned us on Friday we had a conversation where they requested an extension and our lawyers contacted them in response saying that there will be no extension,” Shreiber said.

Shreiber said these documents were important because they would indicate the extent that cadre deployment contributed to State Capture and government corruption including the collapsing of State-Owned Companies.

“The ANC has fought for three years to prevent these records from being seen by South Africans. These records will demonstrate that the ANC’s cadre deployment committee interfered with public appointment processes in an illegal fashion,” he said.

Shreiber said the matter has been in court for years and the ANC had no excuse of not handing over the documents to the DA.

The Citizen contacted ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu for comment and written questions have been sent to her. This article will be updated as soon as the ANC replies on the matter.