Leaders of a powerful church group have won their legal battle to be reinstated in the UMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party following their dismissal before the May 29 elections.
The case was brought by Sophonia Tsekedi and Bishop Meshack Tebe, founders of the All African Alliance (AAA) church movement which boasts 14 million followers in South Africa.
"We've always maintained we wanted to resolve issues with MK sitting down and through discussions. But the truth is they failed to do so," Bishop Tebe told IOL.
"We built MK and asked our members to support the party but three days after winning the elections we were told via WhatsApp that we were dismissed from the party. That was a shock and because they didn't even reach out we had to go through the courts,"
The ruling sets aside their dismissal and MK will now have to include them in their national and provincial lists. It would also have to reinstate them as a working partner to MK, as per the original agreement between the AAA and MK, added Tebe.
Relations between the two parties broke down following internal disputes around the MK party's parliamentary nominations.
Around 15 AAA members were placed on the MK list of MPs for the national assembly but were quickly axed within a few days. Their challenge is currently ongoing.
The explosive breakdown in the relationship unleashed fury on both sides.
The AAA accused MK of running the party like a family cult led by Duduzile Zuma, daughter of party leader, Jacob Zuma. MK in turn, fired back, accusing AAA of trying to hijack the party from within.
However, now, a few months since the fallout and with the court victory, Tebe's tone appears more reconcilatory and mellow. "We are still willing to be part of MK. We are still willing to sit down and discuss matters" he added.
MK spokesperson, Muzi Ntshingila told IOL the party was studying the outcome and will issue a response accordingly.
IOL