The disbanded Free State African National Congress (ANC) Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) Secretary Paseka Nompondo has instructed Moroka Attorneys to withdraw the concourt appeal application to overturn the Supreme Court of Appeal judgment that declared the PEC unconstitutional.
In the instruction letter to the attorneys, Nompondo states that the provincial ANC chairperson Sam Mashinini had no authority and was not mandated to act on behalf of the PEC.
Nompondo says the withdrawal is on the basis that the parties involved have been instructed by the National Working Committee and National Leadership to find a political solution.
The SCA earlier declared the elective conference of May 2018 irregular and unconstitutional, the court found that the elective conference was riddled with irregularities.
The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the disgruntled members of the party that contended that a 2018 Provincial Elective Conference had irregularities.
This follows a four-year-long legal tussle. The group had challenged the validity and lawfulness of the conference stating that branch general meetings held ahead of the conference were not constituted lawfully and that branch audits were flawed.
The ANC in the Free State has been battling to contain the crisis on several fronts. Disgruntled party members are threatening court action against the newly-elected leadership.
About 17 party members have been suspended for allegedly failing to adhere to party rules. They include three mayors from Dihlabeng, Fezile Dabi and Maluti-a-Phofung.
Fourteen councillors in the Maluti-a-Phofung have been suspended. The future of Dihlabeng Executive Mayor Lindiwe Makhalema, Fezile Dabi’s Magugudi Oliphant and Gilbert Mokotso of Maluti-a-Phofung hangs in the balance.
In the video below, aggrieved ANC members say the recent judgment by the SCA paves the way for the party to heal divisions:
Unity
Political analyst Sethulego Matebesi says the ANC leadership wants a united party ahead of the Local Government Election.
“I don’t think the ANC at Luthuli House would want to see a protracted process because at the end of the day they want a united ANC. We are going to the Local Government Elections, we are going to an elective conference of the ANC next year and that’s why I would think the President of the ANC and those who want a united ANC would like to see this matter resolved as matter of urgency.”
Legal expert Machini Motloung says, “You would understand that in the event that the losing party, the unsuccessful party, the aggrieved party fails to prosecute the appeal within the prescribed period, also fails to make an application for condonation – the effect thereof will be that the judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal will stand and the order that has been made by the Supreme Court of Appeal will still be in operation. Meaning that the provincial conference of ANC in the Free State which has been declared invalid and unlawful would stand, meaning that the elected provincial executive structure will have no standing.”
