ANC mired in conference verification battle

Hopes for the ANC’s interdicted provincial conference in the Eastern Cape have dimmed, as the party has yet to fulfil its commitment to provide branch attendance registers deemed crucial to proving the legitimacy of the postponed gathering.

- Eric Mthobeli Naki

The delay stems from demands by dissatisfied members that the ANC should produce electronic membership system records of branch attendances across the province for 2025 and 2026, with minutes and signed registers from all branch general meetings held prior to the conference.

In an affidavit, applicant Lwazi Rotya, one of three members who successfully interdicted the conference, said ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula had promised the court that raw attendance data would be made available for inspection by the applicants' lawyers at the ANC's attorneys' offices. But this has not yet happened.