Efforts to solve the leadership conundrum of the Congress of the People (Cope) will continue in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday.
Deputy Judge President Phineas Mojapelo on Wednesday ordered former Cope president Mosiuoa Lekota and his rival, acting president Mbhazima Shilowa, to return to court on Friday morning at 11.30am.
Lekota is challenging a vote of no-confidence taken in him at a party congress last weekend.
Shilowa’s attorney argued his team had not had enough time to respond. After much wrangling between the two legal teams, an order postponing the matter was handed down.
The order was included in an undertaking by Shilowa’s team that Cope could not take any steps to remove Lekota from his office until Friday, nor could it submit new parliamentary lists.
It was reported this week that Cope’s parliamentary leader, Mvume Dandala, was considering resigning from his post.
While Dandala on Wednesday would not be drawn on whether he would resign, an SMS he sent to Lekota was read in court.
“Cde [Comrade] President, I wish to advise that after consultation I will submit today only the letter to the GS [general secretary Charlotte Lobe] advising the party of my intentions. I will wait for the response before I submit to the speaker. I will not attend Parliament this week, neither will I attend party meetings. Regards, Mvume,” it read.
Lekota’s advocate, Hilton Epstein SC, read out the SMS in a bid to get an undertaking from Shilowa’s team that he would not carry out the functions of a president — which included submitting parliamentary lists — pending the outcome of the hearing.
A costs decision in the matter was reserved until the merits of the case were argued on Friday.
‘Petty’
Speaking outside court, Lekota said he was happy his side would be able to present its case.
“I am quite confident that flowing from that we’ll be able to show to the court that what happened at St George’s was not valid,” he said, referring to St George’s Hotel outside Pretoria, where the vote of no-confidence was taken on Saturday.
Cope spokesperson JJ Tabane, aligned with Shilowa, said the party was happy it had more time to prepare. He described Lekota’s court challenge as “petty”.
At the chaotic weekend congress, the vote of no-confidence removed Lekota from the party presidency and Phillip Dexter from his position as head of communications.
Cope spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said the pair had publicly expressed views contrary to those held by the party.
The vote was taken after Lekota interdicted the congress from proceeding with an election that he argued contravened an agreement made by both factions during a meeting of Cope’s leadership structure, the congress national committee (CNC).
The CNC last week agreed the congress, initially meant to elect leadership, would be turned into a policy conference. Despite this delegates took a resolution to hold elections. — Sapa