Court rules Mbalula unlawfully removed Lungisa from ANC election list
The Johannesburg High Court ruled that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula acted unlawfully by removing Andile Lungisa from the party's election list. The judge declared the removal invalid, noting that Mbalula bypassed established internal party processes.
Why it matters
This ruling highlights internal governance struggles within a major political party and the importance of adhering to constitutional and procedural rules.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula broke his own party’s rules and the Constitution when he single-handedly struck Andile Lungisa off the ANC’s Nelson Mandela Bay election list hours before the deadline, the Johannesburg High Court has ruled.
Judge NP Mali on Friday declared the removal unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid, but the decision came too late to put Lungisa back on the ballot for the November 4 local government elections.
Mali ordered Mbalula, the ANC and its national executive committee to restore Lungisa’s name to the party’s internal list immediately and to pay his legal costs on the punitive attorney and client scale.
Mali found the ANC’s rules gave the secretary-general no power to change a final list on his own.
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