A group of ANC members from the Joe Gqabi region has launched a court bid to interdict the party’s provincial elective conference set to take place later this week, joining three disgruntled members who have also taken the legal route to block it.
Court papers seen by the Dispatch list Obedient Coetzee, Zwelithini Goodwill Mqokwana, Yandiswa Zweni, Nomalungisa Hona, Siyabulela Nxozi and Nontutuzelo Hlanjwa as the applicants against the ANC, the national executive committee, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa, national ANC chair Gwede Mantashe, secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, the provincial executive committee and its secretary, Lulama Ngcukayitobi, over the conference.
In court, the applicants list that a number of wards have been affected by the newly established ward boundary lines as of December 2025.
They said all branches of the ANC affected by the new demarcation should and must undergo a realignment in line with the new demarcation.
“However, and despite the new demarcation of the wards aforementioned, ANC branches were never realigned. The result of the failure of realignment is that it created vagrants in that members who are not supposed to be in these wards are participating in ANC processes,” the court papers show.
“This created a confusion within the branch in that there was never a process to consolidate branch membership in terms of the realignment guidelines. This affected the legitimacy of the BBGM (branch biennial general meeting) and BGM (branch general meeting) and is unlawful.”
No final verification report
They also alleged that in the latest updated report, it appears that no fewer than 46 branches had the pre-BGM meeting unverified, and that in respect of the state of readiness, the secretary-general must sign off a final verification report confirming the number of branches that are expected to attend the conference.
In respect of Joe Gqabi region, the applicants allege no “final verification report has been signed off. Instead, a preliminary verification report was signed on March 18, which I only saw on March 20”.
We are defending our organisation and our systems because we believe our systems and processes are transparent and are too democratic, and our processes are highly regulated so as to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability
— Yanga Zicina, provincial ANC spokesperson
The PEC announced last week that a 70% threshold had been met, paving the way for the conference to sit.
However, the applicants want it interdicted, citing that, “The conference will be held in the face of a number of branches that have been disqualified in terms of various verification reports issued by the national office.
“Such verification reports, many of which have been manipulated by using unorthodox, unconventional and unconstitutional measures, are the subject of an appeal process that is still under way,” the applicants said.
“The constitution of the ANC, coupled with the guidelines, require that any appeals shall be determined at least two weeks before the date of the conference. Such appeals have, to date, not been determined,” the applicants say in their affidavit.
Provincial ANC spokesperson Yanga Zicina said: “We have noted litigations from various groups. It could be more [litigations], but the ANC provincial leadership is equal to the task together with the national leadership. We are defending our organisation and our systems because we believe our systems and processes are transparent and are too democratic, and our processes are highly regulated so as to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability.”
Zicina said members who are not satisfied have a right to register their dissatisfaction within the movement.
“If they decide to approach the court, that is their basic right. We will defend all litigations and the conference is going ahead as planned.”
Daily Dispatch
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