THE suspended ANC’s Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, has filed a notice to appeal a judgment that upheld his suspension.
Last month, the high court ruled that the ANC’s suspension of Magashule was in line with the party’s constitution and that of the country, that it was precautionary in nature, and that it complied with the relevant law on precautionary suspensions.
Judges Jody Kollapen, Edwin Molahlehi and Sharise Weiner heard the matter and agreed to dismiss Magashule’s case.
Now, in the latest notice to appeal, Magashule states that judges made a number of errors in their ruling.
He said that based on a number of points he makes in the application to appeal “there are reasonable prospects that the Supreme Court of Appeal would come to a different conclusion”.
Magashule said the court gratuitously accused him of making a “factionalist accusation”, that the step-aside rule was designed to target him and his supporters.
Magashule argues that he never made such a claim.
He further said that the court made an unnecessarily pejorative reference to unidentified “officials of the ANC”, when the ANC officials are well-known and were in fact identified by the same court at paragraph of the judgment.
Magashule further said the judgment is littered with countless examples of indications or pointers of actual and/or perceived bias on the part of the court, which to the applicant point to a desire to produce or justify a pre-determined outcome in favour of the respondents and against the applicant.
In March, the ANC gave Magashule 30 days to step aside from his position as secretary-general because he faced fraud charges related to a R255-million Free State asbestos tender, which happened under his watch as the Free State premier.
Magashule did not step aside as per the ANC’s rules regarding members implicated in corruption and was thus suspended.
Shortly after Magashule was suspended, he suspended Cyril Ramaphosa for allegedly violating the same rule as the party’s president.
The Johannesburg High Court found that this suspension was illegal.
Magashule said the court again erred in holding that Ramaphosa’s suspension “was not lawful” without giving any explanation for that conclusion and in the absence of any counter-application seeking such relief by Ramaphosa.
- Inside Politics
