ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule Garners Support as He Takes the ANC to Court

ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule Garners Support as He Takes the ANC to Court

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  • The suspended ANC secretary-general has gained support from structures within the ANC as he proceeds to take the party to court
  • Members of the party have applied to the court to have the ANC's 'set-aside' resolution to be declared unconstitutional
  • President Cyril Ramaphosa has criticised Magashule's decision to take the organisation to court

As suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule prepares to take the ANC to court, three structures in the Free State, as well as four party members, have applied to the court to intervene on behalf of Magashule.

ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule, Cyril Ramaphosa, suspension, court case, step-aside, unconstitutional
ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule says the step-aside resolution is used to target him. Image: Gianluigi Guercia/Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

According to News24, the ANC's Fezile Dabi region, Arthur Pitso branch and the Jomo Marumo branch, Jomo Marumo branch secretary Pule Patrick Nthene as well party member Thabang Lawrence Nkhoke, have made an application in which they ask the court to declare the “step-aside” resolution invalid.

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They are challenging the constitutionality and legality of the resolution.

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Magashule is taking ANC to court over his suspension under the step-aside resolution that was enacted at the ANC’s 54th national conference in Nasrec. The resolution states that members who are charged with corruption need to step aside pending legal procedures.

In an interview with SABC News, Magashule stated that he believes the resolution was designed to target him.

“There are many comrades in each and every province who are charged. You take a decision and select Ace and Bongo,” he said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has criticised Magashule for taking the ANC to court, stating that Magashule’s job as secretary-general is to implement resolutions he wants to be set aside.

“For a secretary-general to decide to take his own organisation to court and to question the constitutionality of the very constitution that he’s been implementing and adhering to is a big surprise. So this is unprecedented but we will obviously have to go through that,” said Ramaphosa.

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Ramaphosa added that he would let the process run its full course. The case will be heard in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday and Friday.

Magashule says only the court can un-suspend President Cyril Ramaphosa

Briefly News previously reported that suspended ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule is insisting that ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to stay 'suspended' until a court of law revokes the suspension. He emphasised that failure to do this would be unlawful.

Magashule expanded on his point in an affidavit by explaining that the National Executive Committee (NEC) holds no legal basis to announce that his letter to Ramaphosa suspending him was unlawful and invalid.

Magashule continues by stating that regardless of whether the letter was invalid, the process in which the letter was dismissed by the NEC was unlawful.

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Source: Briefly News

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