Here’s what was seized in the raid.
Luthuli House is a little emptier this weekend after the Sheriff of the Court reportedly raided the ANC’s headquarters.
Among the equipment reportedly seized last week were 100 desks, 200 chairs, 20 computers, 50 filing cabinets, nine couches, nine fridges, nine microwaves, and coffee tables, reported City Press.
The equipment will be sold at auction if the political parties do not settle a R85.5 million debt to Ezulweni Investments.
And if they wanted to replace any of it, their bank accounts have also reportedly been frozen.
Ezulweni Investments said they were willing to bring a liquidation application against the ANC if the debt is not recovered.
This would add another nail to the party’s coffin after a bruising national election last year saw them lose more power and influence.
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At the heart of the legal battle between the ANC and Ezulweni Investments is an order of banners for the 2019 national elections.
The parties reached an out-of-court agreement in late 2023, which saw the debt offset as part of a new contract worth R190 million. Without this agreement, the party may have been liquidated and prevented from contesting last year’s elections.
The agreement was, however, reportedly broken in August this year, which brought the latest legal action.
The ANC has suffered court defeats over the debt in both 2020 and 2022. The party told the High Court in Johannesburg that it did not have an agreement with the company and that the staffers involved in the deal had acted without the party’s knowledge.
The party appealed the judgments with no success, even taking the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which rejected the claim that the contract was fraudulent.
The party had filed papers with the Constitutional Court before the settlement was reached.
Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa
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