The Durban High Court recently ruled that the decision by the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) to nullify the KZN elective conference was legally sound.
The conference held in August 2023 saw ANC Tolomane Mnyayiza Regional Executive Committee (REC) members Sibongile Khathi, Mbali Cele-Luthuli and Thuleleni Khanyase being elected as Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) members.
Khathi, the former mayor of Umdoni, was also elected as the ANCWL KZN spokesperson.
The court, last week, said the national body of the ANCWL was within its rights to declare the outcomes of the August conference null and void as it had found that the conference was surrounded by voter irregularities.
At the conference, KZN MEC for Social Development Nonhlanhla Khoza was named KZN ANCWL chairperson, KZN Education MEC Mbali Frazer bagged the position of deputy chairperson and Zamazulu Sokhabase was named provincial secretary.
After concerns about voter irregularities were raised, sources close to the Fever said that 27 outstanding votes could have altered the outcome of the conference as some of the elected ANCWL provincial top five leaders, including the secretary, Sokhabase, defeated her rival, the chief whip of Ugu District Municipality, Matho Shozi, with less than 10 votes.
And when the ANCWL disbanded its recently-elected KZN structure amid allegations of voting irregularities, Shozi was elected as part of the ANCWL KZN Provincial Task Team.
In a statement, ANCWL deputy secretary Dina Pule said the NEC welcomes the high court judgement in response to the nullification of the results of the sixth provincial elective conference.
Pule said while the court ruled in favour of the decision of the NEC to nullify the conference, they would like to emphasise the need for unity and cohesion within the organisation.
“We call upon all members and the leaders of the ANCWL in KZN to prioritise the interests of the organisation and work towards fostering a spirit of inclusivity and collaboration. The ANCWL in KZN must focus on its core mandate of advocating for the rights and well-being of women, both within the organisation and society at large, more especially as we head to the seventh democratic general elections,” said Pule.
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