Judge Fouché Jordaan's ruling dismissed their bid against the party and also made them responsible for the legal fees of the case. This comes after the applicants approached the court in November last year to challenge the legality of the party's Provincial Elective Conference (PEC), which was held in May 2018. 

To their surprise today, Jordaan ruled in favour of the main group, as he said he did not believe the applicants had a solid case against the main group and believed that they made the court bid to score political points within their faction. 

The disgruntled group’s spokesperson, Monnapule Ntamo, told OFM News that Jordaan’s statements were malicious and indicative of his misunderstanding of the matter.  “We are not really satisfied with the judgment because we feel that the judge has miscalculated the facts. However, we still stand firm that the current PEC is still illegal and our fight still goes on. We are going to regroup quickly and check what our next step will be, but we’re not going to leave it lying down,” Ntamo said.

Ntamo lamented Jordaan’s statements that the disgruntled group used the court case to further their political motives, calling his statements malicious. Ntamo said while the group intends to continue fighting the party, the fight is against the current PEC and not the party itself. 

He urged people within his faction to continue to vote for the party in the upcoming general elections and not withhold their votes or vote for other political parties in an effort to spite the party. 

This ruling is devastating not only to the four applicants in this case - Matshepo Ramakatsa, Lebeko Maile, Themba Mvandaba, and Shashapa Motaung - but also to the 16 ANC councillors from the Maluti-a-Phofung municipality, who were recently dismissed by the party from their municipal positions after they defied mandates given to them by the party in a council meeting. 

The group was hoping on the judgment to rule in favour of the applicants, as it would then nullify all decisions made by the current PEC, including their removal. The councillors had also previously approached the court to appeal their removal but lost their bid earlier this month after their Johannesburg counsel failed to show up for proceedings.

OFM News