Judgment soon in Free State ANC-vs-ANC election case

Judgment has been reserved by the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein in the case between four disgruntled ANC members and the party’s leadership in the province. 

Judge Fouché Jordaan is expected to deliver his judgment soon, and spokesperson for the applicants, Monnapula Ntamo, said they were confident that they would emerge victorious.

The applicants – Lebeko Maile, Matshepo Ramakatsa, Themba Mvandaba and Shashapa Motaung – approached the court in November 2018 to challenge the legality of the provincial elective conference that took place in May that year.

It was at this elective conference that the MEC for police, roads and transport Sam Mashinini was elected ANC provincial chairperson, William Bulwane the deputy chairperson, and the position of secretary going to Paseka Nompondo.

On Thursday last week the opposing parties each delivered their arguments in the high court.

The disgruntled group, represented by advocates Dali Mpofu and Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, allege the conference took place in the absence of legally elected delegates from branches and without proper audits of the branches being done within the nine-month period specified in the party’s constitution.

The ANC provincial and national leadership, represented by advocates William Mokhari and Ishmael Semenya, argued their clients were not in contravention of the November 2017 court order, because they did end up rerunning the branch general meetings as was instructed in that order.

They used a December 15 high court judgment to support their assertion. This judgment indicated that of the 28 branch general meetings that were rerun, only 14 were done successfully. Mokhari maintained the applicants wanted Jordaan to take the November 2017 judgment into account and ignore the one that followed.

He said “the December 2017 judgment supersedes the one the applicants refer to in their argument”.

– OFM News

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