Disgruntled ANC members from the North West will have to go back to the drawing board having lost, with costs, an appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to declare unlawful tuhe elective conference which elected Nono Maloyi as chair.
The members approached the court disputing the validity of the conference and the resolutions it adopted.
But the SCA on Thursday ruled that the ANC's national executive committee had a constitutional duty to ensure that internal elections proceeded in the absence of a provincial structure.
“Its actions were in line with the rule 12.2.20 of the ANC constitution which grants it broad powers to uphold the ANC objectives. The SCA found no evidence of improper conduct at the conference and ruled that the NEC did not violate the ANC constitution. As a result, the SCA made an order dismissing the appeal with costs including the cost of two counsel where so employed,” the judgment read.
This comes after a group of disgruntled ANC members took the party to court in 2018 after the provincial executive committee (PEC) led by Supra Mahumapelo was disbanded. The disbanded PEC members challenged the decision and lost at the Mahikeng high court.