- Three ANC members, Lwazi Rotya, Sinethemba Mpande and Nompumelelo Mazotiwa, want the Eastern Cape conference to be halted due to branch approval concerns.
- ANC Eastern Cape provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi warned party leaders about membership manipulation, then sent a letter withdrawing the conference invitation.
The Eastern Cape ANC conference is in danger of collapse after three party members challenged it in court and the provincial secretary sent a letter withdrawing all invitations.
Lwazi Rotya, Sinethemba Mpande and Nompumelelo Mazotiwa are asking the court to stop the conference. They say that the process used to approve branches was not valid.
The three want the court to declare ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula's decision to approve the final verification report on March 18 as unlawful. They also want the report to be quashed.
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The party's provincial executive committee says 535 out of 554 branches have qualified for the conference. This is above the 70% threshold required for the event to go ahead.
But the applicants say there is no evidence from the party's electronic membership system. They argue that this is the only reliable way to confirm who can participate.
“The electronic system was introduced solely to solve the problems of manipulation,” court documents state.
The applicants also say that the disputes were not resolved on time and the report was also issued late. ANC rules require disputes to be settled at least 48 hours before the conference.
Provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi had earlier written to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Speaker Gwede Mantashe warning about “the failure of the membership system, manipulation and inconsistent application of the guidelines”. Later he sent a letter withdrawing the invitation to the conference.
The ANC says it will fight the case. Spokeswoman Yanga Zisina told *The Daily Dispatch*: “Our lawyers are occupied with procedural issues and are studying the papers.” Zisina said the court bid was “well organized and planned”.
Mbalula is expected to meet provincial leaders to deal with the crisis. The court will hear this case on Wednesday.