<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed with costs an appeal by three party members seeking to overturn the North West High Court Division’s ruling regarding the party’s interim leadership and the convening of its elective conference.<\/p>\n
Lebogang Medupe, Sello Molefe, and Itumeleng Moswane had taken issue with the ANC interim provincial committee (IPC) convening the conference in August 2022.<\/p>\n
The trio brought an urgent application in August 2022 for an order declaring unlawful the provincial conference and the ANC\u2019s decision \u201cto usurp\u201d the powers and functions of the provincial executive at the provincial conference.<\/p>\n
They argued in court papers that the term of office of the IPC, which was appointed in August, expired in April 2020.<\/p>\n
The High Court previously ruled in favour of the ANC, stating that the nine-month period for the IPC to convene a conference could not be adhered to due to the national lockdown and that the national executive committee (NEC), as the highest organ of the ANC, took all steps necessary to ensure the fulfilment of its objectives.<\/p>\n
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Judge John Smith said the appeal raised whether the IPC had authority to call the provincial conference and whether the NEC was empowered by the ANC constitution to take control of the elections at the provincial conference.<\/p>\n
Smith said both issues involved the interpretation of the ANC constitution and that it was established law that the constitution of a voluntary association constituted the agreement between the association\u2019s members.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe constitution must, therefore, be interpreted in accordance with the canons of interpretation applicable to contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said the ANC counsel made a compelling argument that the IPC\u2019s term of office was linked to \u201cthe period of the suspension or the dissolution of the PEC\u201d and not to the nine-month period in which elections for the new PEC should be called.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn IPC\u2019s term of office would not terminate upon the expiry of the nine-month period but would endure until the election of a new PEC. It seems, to me, that this must logically be so since circumstances beyond the control of either the IPC or the NEC may arise making it impossible to call elections within the nine-month period.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also noted that the ANC was forced to postpone all conferences after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in compliance with the declaration of a National State of Disaster in March 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis event was unprecedented in the history of humankind and resulted in severe restrictions being placed on the movement of people, gatherings and conduct of businesses, unless they were performing an essential service.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said it would be incongruous to interpret the rule as meaning that an overshoot of the nine-month period, even for good reason such as the Covid-19 lockdown, would result in the expiration of the interim structure\u2019s term of office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI, therefore, find that on a reasonable interpretation of rule 12.2.4, the IPC was still in office until 13 August 2022 and it was thus constitutionally empowered to call the provincial conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issue as to whether the various resolutions adopted by the NEC had the effect of extending the IPC\u2019s term of office is therefore rendered inconsequential, regardless of whether the NEC was of the view that there was a need for those extensions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The judge also found that the NEC was constitutionally obligated to take whatever steps may have been necessary to ensure that the elections proceeded.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my view, it matters not that they elected to do so through their own deployees, instead of appointing another IPC.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith also said the NEC has wide-ranging powers to ensure \u201cthe due fulfilment of the aims and objectives of the ANC and the due performance of its duties\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn deciding to proceed with the elections at the provincial conference, the NEC was doing no more than what the ANC constitution enjoined it to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from the assertions that the conference had not been properly convened and that the NEC\u2019s conduct amounted to \u2018a hostile takeover\u2019 of the provincial conference, there is no suggestion that anything untoward happened at the conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe High Court thus correctly found that the NEC\u2019s actions did not violate the ANC\u2019s constitution,\u201d said Smith in his ruling when he dismissed the appeal with costs.<\/p>\n
mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed with costs an appeal by three party members seeking to overturn the North West High Court Division’s ruling regarding the party’s interim leadership and the convening of its elective conference. Lebogang Medupe, Sello Molefe, and Itumeleng Moswane had taken issue with the ANC interim provincial committee (IPC) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2475,3098,271,218,6218,11322,11858,14647,1011,326],"class_list":["post-235158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-anc","tag-battle","tag-conference","tag-legal","tag-north","tag-ruling","tag-sca","tag-upholds","tag-west","tag-wins"],"yoast_head":"\n