U’ra MaŠuma’elo de…lines nomination

JOHANNESBURG - North West political strongman Supra ‘Black Jesus’ Mahumapelo yesterday morning declined nomination as ANC chair for the province.

Mahumapelo is believed to be behind a court action seeking to stop the ongoing provincial conference in Rustenburg.

In the action, it is argued that the gathering is unlawful and illegal and should be halted owing to it being ‘called’ by the interim provincial committee (IPC) whose members the court ruled should not be allowed to vote in a separate court action on Friday.

Mahumapelo declined nomination for the top position, paving the way for Nono Maloyi and Bushy Maape to become the two candidates for the post.

On Saturday evening, the North West High Court heard arguments on why the gathering should be interdicted.

At the core of the court action is an argument that the provincial interim committee had no mandate to organise the conference as its mandate expired in May 2020.

The ANC national leadership said the conference will continue as planned until ordered otherwise by the court since Luthuli House believes it has followed its Constitution in convening the gathering.

The conference is expected to elect the new provincial top five yesterday morning, should the court not have delivered judgment or dismissed the

application.

The litigants argued that the ANC has failed to fulfil its constitutional mandate to convene a provincial conference within nine months. They believe all decisions and actions of the IPC should thus be declared illegal and unlawful.

“The preparations leading up to the calling and convening of the ANC’s North West provincial conference scheduled from August 12 to 14 and the notice calling for such conference was issued and done by the illegitimate IPC, whose term ended as far back as May 2020,” the applicants argued.

“It is now common cause that the term of the members of the IPC has now been declared to have lapsed. Therefore their status and participation at the provincial conference is not that of voting delegates or non-voting delegates.”