Three ANC members, Lwazi Rotya, Sinethemba Mpande and Nompumelelo Mzotywa, want the Eastern Cape conference stopped over branch approval concerns.
ANC Eastern Cape provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi warned party leaders about membership manipulation, then sent a letter withdrawing conference invitations.
The Eastern Cape ANC conference is in danger of falling apart after three party members challenged it in court and the provincial secretary sent a letter withdrawing all invitations.
Lwazi Rotya, Sinethemba Mpande and Nompumelelo Mzotywa are asking the court to stop the conference. They say the process used to approve branches was not valid.
The three want the court to declare unlawful a decision by ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula to approve the final verification report on 18 March. They also want the report set aside.
The party’s provincial executive committee says 535 of 554 branches qualified for the conference. That is above the 70% threshold needed for the event to go ahead.
But the applicants say there is no proof from the party’s electronic membership system. They argue this is the only reliable way to confirm who can take part.
“The electronic system was introduced precisely to address problems of manipulation,” the court papers state.
The applicants also say disputes were not resolved in time and the report was released too late. ANC rules require disputes to be settled at least 48 hours before a conference.
Provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi earlier wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa and chair Gwede Mantashe, warning about “membership systems failure, manipulation and inconsistent application of guidelines”. He later sent a letter withdrawing invitations to the conference.
The ANC says it will fight the case. Spokesperson Yanga Zicina told the *Daily Dispatch*: “Our lawyers are seized with the procedural issues and are studying the papers.” Zicina said the court bid was “well orchestrated and well planned”.
Mbalula is expected to meet provincial leaders to deal with the crisis. The court will hear the case on Wednesday.
Pictured above: ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula speaking at the Amathole Regional Conference at the weekend.
