The South Gauteng High Court has ruled in favour of Loyiso Masuku and her Regional Executive Committee (REC) in a matter challenging the conference that elected her as regional chairperson of the ANC in Johannesburg.
The legitimacy of this conference had been challenged in court by Stan Itshegetseng, an influential figure in ANC politics in Johannesburg.
He argued that the conference that elected Masuku was marred by irregularities, and he wanted an interim relief interdicting the Regional Executive Committee (REC) from exercising its powers pending a review under part B of the ANC’s Johannesburg regional elective conference.
Masuku’s faction has closely associated Itshegetseng with the former chairperson of the ANC in Johannesburg, Dada Morero; they even tried recalling Morero as mayor when they found out Itshegetseng had taken the ANC to court.
Itshgetseng’s lawyers brought the matter to court on an urgent basis. In a judgment seen by The Citizen, Judge Wilhelmina du Plessis struck the matter of the roll. This order was released on Monday. Â
“I accept that the applicant has acted out of a genuine concern for the integrity of his party’s internal democracy and electoral processes.
“That concern, however sincere, cannot override his obligation to adhere to the internal dispute-resolution mechanisms prescribed by the ANC constitution and guidelines themselves, to which the applicant bound himself upon becoming a member.
“This finding should not be interpreted as saying that members can never approach a court directly. There might well be circumstances where, for instance, such remedies are demonstrably illusory, or are themselves part of the complained-of illegality, where direct judicial intervention is justified.
“This, however, is not such a case on the facts before me. The matter, therefore, must be struck from the roll,” she said.
In relation to costs, du Plessis said: “I have had regard to the applicant’s submission that, even if he were to fail on urgency and interim relief, no order as to costs should be made because he acted from a genuine concern for the ANC’s internal democracy and had attempted, unsuccessfully, to ventilate his complaints within the party.”
Itshegetseng told The Citizen that he will consult his lawyers since he is considering appealing the matter.
He believes that he tried his best to sort this matter out within the ANC structures.