Former President Jacob Zuma Former President Jacob Zuma
Image: Former President Jacob Zuma
Jabulani Khumalo, the MK Party's founder who was expelled, has no chance of winning back his position as leader of the party after the Electoral Court rejected his bid to be reinstated.
The court dismissed his case, with costs, following his attempt to have the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) record of former President Jacob Zuma as MKP leader invalidated and set aside.
In May, Khumalo filed an urgent application with the Electoral Court against the IEC’s decision to remove him as party leader and recorded Zuma instead.
This was because he wanted to the IEC recognise him as president of MKP.
In the same vein, Khumalo allegedly had written to Zuma to inform him that he was placing him on precautionary suspension.
In a document that IOL has seen, the court said “For all the above reasons, the application also constitutes an abuse of this Court's process and a waste of its judicial economy and the opposing respondents' resources.
“They have incurred legal costs opposing an application that should not have seen the light of day. It would be unfair to leave the respondents out of pocket under these circumstances.”
The order continued to say that a punitive costs order against Khumalo is the most appropriate way of censuring his conduct and "sending a message to the public that making false statements under oath and abuse of this court's process will not be countenanced."
Khumalo was expelled in April after the party said it was “cleansing itself.” He was booted out with the other four members.
According to the party, the move was a commitment to purify itself from rogue elements that would blur its lines to the two-thirds majority.
Zuma has now replaced Khumalo as the leader and face of MKP.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
IOL Politics