By Khaza Mathebula
The ANC’s headquarters at Luthuli House has suffered another courtroom defeat in the ongoing battle over leadership structures in the Eastern Cape.
The Makhanda High Court has overturned the decision by the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) to establish a Provincial Task Team (PTT) in the Eastern Cape, finding the move to be both unlawful and unconstitutional.
The judgment is the latest development in a protracted dispute that emerged ahead of the ANC’s postponed Eastern Cape elective conference. The gathering was expected to see provincial chairperson and Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane seek another term in office against former provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi. However, the conference never took place after it was halted through legal action.
Following the expiry of the Provincial Executive Committee’s (PEC) term, the NEC moved to appoint a task team to administer the province’s affairs. The structure, led by Mabuyane, immediately became the subject of legal challenges, particularly because Ngcukayitobi was excluded from the body.
In its ruling, the court found that the appointment of the task team violated provisions of the ANC constitution and failed to comply with the party’s own rules and guidelines.
The court declared that the announcement and installation of the Eastern Cape PTT breached Section 19 of the Constitution and was therefore unconstitutional. It further held that the decision infringed on the contractual rights of ANC members as protected by the party’s constitution, policies and directives.
The judges also found that the NEC failed to follow ANC conference and organisational guidelines when creating the structure, leading to the decision being reviewed and set aside.
A significant consequence of the judgment is that every decision taken by the PTT since its establishment has been declared invalid and without legal effect.
The court additionally barred the task team from carrying out any duties associated with its role. This includes convening meetings or representing the Eastern Cape ANC at any party structure, gathering, conference or activity.
The judgment clarified that the dispute was not about whether the NEC possesses the authority to establish a task team. All parties accepted that the national leadership has such powers.
Instead, the central question before the court was whether the NEC could appoint a PTT merely because the PEC’s term had expired, without first dissolving the elected leadership structure.
The applicants argued that the PEC had never been formally dissolved and that the NEC therefore acted outside its powers when it installed the task team. They further maintained that ANC members were not consulted before the decision was taken, depriving them of procedural fairness.
The PTT, on the other hand, contended that the ANC constitution limits a PEC’s term to four years and that the expiry of that term automatically justified the creation of a task team.
The court ultimately sided with the applicants, delivering a major legal setback to the ANC leadership and raising questions about the validity of decisions made by the Eastern Cape task team since it assumed office.