By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Electoral Court has postponed the judgement in a case on whether the Umkhonto weSizwe party should have been registered as a political party.
The African National Congress (ANC) approached the court to question the validity of MK Party, which is being led by former president Jacob Zuma.
The party is also accusing the MK Party – of unlawfully supplementing a defective application after its initial one was rejected.
In its papers, the ANC said after the MK Party’s application for registration was initially rejected because it didn’t meet the prescribed requirements, it then unlawfully supplemented its application, instead of submitting a new one.
Both the MK Party and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa have maintained that this is not unlawful.
Earlier on Monday, the court issued a notice that the decision will be delivered in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday at 9am.
The outcome will answer questions on whether the ANC can bypass the internal dispute resolution mechanism and go straight to the courts.
Legal expert, Lawson Naidoo, said postponements are not uncommon.
“The matter was heard last week so it’s a quick turnaround for judgment. There may just be a delay in finalising the judgment. It’s not an ordinate delay. Judgment was meant to be handed down today and it will be handed down tomorrow,” he said.
Naidoo said he did not think there was anything untoward taking place.
Meanwhile several senior ANC members in Parliament, including Mandla Mandela, Collen Malatji and Sisisi Tolashe have been found guilty by the Ethics Committee of failing to declare their financial interests.
Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Judith Tshabalala also failed to declare her financial interests and fell foul of the Ethics Committee.
Chairperson of the joint standing committee on intelligence, Jerome Maake was also found guilty of violating the ethics code by not disclosing his financial interests.
Maake is currently chairing the ad hoc committee on the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill, known as the Spy Bill.
The rules of Parliament require its members to disclose their financial interests every year.
But Mandela, Malatji, Tolashe, Maake and other ANC MPs failed to meet the deadline and declare their financial interests to the acting Registrar.
The Ethics Committee has recommended that the House must fine the members 20 days of their salary and reprimand them. The committee said members have a month to table their declarations and do not have to wait until the last minute.