Spectre of fresh brawl over KZN leadership

ANOTHER legal battle is looming between ANC leaders in KwaZulu-Natal as aggrieved party members are threatening to use the courts to get the nullified provincial leadership out of office.

This followed the party’s provincial executive committee’s insistence last week that it would continue to function despite the Pietermaritzburg High Court having ruled that the 2015 conference that elected it was “unlawful”.

“If the NEC (national executive committee) gives them the right to appeal, and as soon as they file their papers we will go to court and file an application order for them to vacate (the office) because the court ordered that they are invalid,” said “rebels” spokesperson Sthembiso Mshengu.

Mshengu said he was disturbed when he drove past the party’s provincial Pixley ka Isaka Seme office in Stalwart Simelane Street, Durban, to notice that the PEC was active.

“They must stop functioning. I saw many cars outside the provincial office, which means it is business as usual for them despite the court ruling,” said Mshengu.

He said the PEC members should leave the office and return to their branches .

Mshengu said the rebels, who are led by former provincial chairman Senzo Mchunu, were engaging with the PEC members.

“We cannot be permanent adversaries. At some point we need to find it within ourselves to engage on these issues,” said Mshengu.

Mchunu was unseated by current chairman Sihle Zikalala during the provincial conference in Pietermaritzburg, but his supporters turned to the courts to get the conference nullified.

The NEC is expected to announce tomorrow whether it will allow the PEC to appeal against the court judgment. This was in contrast with the stance of the provincial leadership of leagues and various regions, who last week insisted that the PEC had the right to appeal without NEC authority.

ANC Youth League provincial secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo said the branches, and not the NEC, had the right to tell the PEC whether to appeal.

However, this week Sabelo retracted the statement.

“At no point did the leadership of the ANC Youth League intend to undermine this role and any interpretation of the utterances made by the leadership to this effect is regrettable.

“We therefore wish to state that we will abide by the decision of the national executive committee with regards to this matter,” he said.

PEC spokesperson Mdumiseni Ntuli described the aggrieved faction as desperate in wanting to turn to the courts to remove them from office.