‘Rebel’ ANC celebrates as court reserves judgment
Arguments over vote rigging heard
“The victory is near, the victory is certain!”
These were the words of triumph on a hastily scribbled placard in the hands of “rebel” ANC branch member Bonginkosi Sisoka outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court after Judge Sharmaine Balton and her bench reserved judgment.
The announcement sent Senzo Mchunu supporters into a frenzy.
They have spent nearly two years asking both the ANC and the court to nullify the outcome of the “rigged” 2015 provincial elective conference that saw incumbent chair Sihle Zikalala defeat Mchunu.
“We know and have always known we will be victorious,” shouted Sisoka behind the public order police barricades as police tried to keep him and Mchunu supporters at bay.
In his closing argument, the rebels’ advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi revealed that on October 27 2015, only days before the start of the conference, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe issued a directive that the conference should not proceed.
The conference nonetheless proceeded, and ANC advocate Greg Harpur earlier argued that then chair Mchunu had sanctioned it to proceed despite several glitches in various branches.
“Even during the conference a number of irregularities were picked up, like delegates wearing two voting tags,” he said, singling out then NEC deployee in KwaZulu-Natal, Joe Phaahla.
NEC members like Lindiwe Sisulu and Phaahla himself had raised red flags about the legitimacy of some voting delegates attending the conference.
“They questioned why this was still going ahead when they were still dealing with branch appeals. Many NEC members were questioning the legitimacy of voting and we’re very suspicious about some processes.” Another “rebels” advocate, Griffiths Madonsela, revealed two wards had failed the audit and had been disqualified, but had voting delegates at the conference. Earlier in the morning, Harpur rubbished as fake the Twitter account from which the results of the elective conference were announced prematurely.