Mahumapelo's fall from grace was characterised by violent protests throughout his province earlier this year. (Rajesh Jantilal/M&G)
Former ANC North West chairperson Supra Mahumapelo and four others will be back in court next week over the disbandment of the provincial executive committee.
Mahumapelo and the four members from different regions in the province are heading to the high court in Johannesburg on November 20 in a bid to have the ANC national executive committee (NEC) decision to strip him and his executive of their powers overturned.
Mahumapelo has maintained that his downfall was linked to a purge in the party following the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as president of the ANC during the 2017 national conference, which took place at Nasrec in Johannesburg.
Back to court
Their lawyer Eric Mabuza confirmed the latest developments, saying, “We are going back to court for Supra on the 20th of November.”
Mahumapelo had vowed that the matter would soon return to the courts after it was struck off the roll by Judge Seun Moshidi last week.
Moshidi, in a scathing judgment, said he did not find the matter urgent and accused Mahumapelo, who joined the matter just before arguments were due to be heard, of abusing court processes.
Inconsistency
Mahumapelo insisted that the NEC had failed to act impartially and consistently when dealing with his province.
“As a province, the treatment we are getting from the current NEC is not an appropriate one,” Mahumapelo told journalists following the dismissal of their application.
He questioned why the NEC had opted to ignore the Sbu Ndebele report into the violent Eastern Cape provincial conference, dubbed a “festival of chairs”, last year and had instead opted for a political solution, with Ndebele recommending that the PEC be disbanded.
Mahumapelo also insisted that, when he complained to the NEC about the “revolutionary council” which was behind calls for him to step down, nothing was done.
List process
According to party insiders, Mahumapelo’s determination to continue fighting the dissolution of his PEC is not just about removing the provincial task team, but about having control of the list processes, which will determine who serves the ANC in Parliament and in provincial legislatures.
ANC members across the country have started sitting for branch general meetings and nominating people they want the party to deploy as Members of Parliament and the provincial legislatures.
Mahumapelo was forced to take “early retirement” as premier in May, following violent demonstrations by residents and ANC members in his province, who rallied under the banner #SupraMustFall.
Mahumapelo was included in the provincial task team (PTT), but quit. In a letter to his ally Ace Magashule, who serves as the ANC’s secretary general, he said those who were part of a “mob” that wanted him removed had been catapulted and clothed as a PTT. — News24