Cyril Ramaphosa Ordered To Pay Legal Fees for Activists
WESTERN CAPE— The Western Cape High Court ordered President Cyril Ramaphosa to pay the legal costs of activists who challenged the government over political funding laws before the 2024 general elections which the African National Congress (ANC) did not win. A full bench of three judges ruled in favour of My Vote Counts (MVC), overturning an earlier cost order that had gone against the organization.
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According to Sunday World, the court found that MVC achieved substantial success when it rushed to court in May 2024. The activists warned that amendments to the Political Party Funding Act created a gap in the law governing political donations. Before these amendments, individual donors could not give more than R15-million annually, and donations above R100,000 required disclosure. MVC argued the changes repealed the old limits before new ones were determined, creating uncertainty ahead of the polls.
The urgent court previously granted a temporary order to keep the challenge alive but directed MVC to pay some costs. MVC appealed. In the latest judgment, the full bench found the previous court focused too narrowly on one aspect instead of the overall outcome. The judges noted the case involved political funding transparency and voters' constitutional rights. They stated that an adverse costs order against MVC could not be sustained.
The full bench ordered Ramaphosa and Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber to pay the costs linked to the temporary proceedings. The state respondents must also pay the appeal costs. The court concluded that MVC’s challenge was a genuine attempt to protect transparency and did not warrant a financial penalty.
Cyril Ramaphosa files court papers for Phala Phala
In another story, Briefly News reported that the embattled head of state filed paperwork to review the Phala Phala report. He made serious allegations against the Section 89 Panel
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Source: Briefly News
