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THE PAC is about to engage in another bruising factional battle to determine who the rightful leader of the party is.
Last month the North Gauteng High Court declared Mzwanele Nyhontso as the PAC’s lawful leader, however, a faction led by Narius Moloto says they have now taken this matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The party has been embroiled in factional battles that have seen it being led by parallel structures, each with its own president, national executive committee and headquarters in Johannesburg.
The deputy secretary-general of the Moloto faction, Kodisang Bokaba, says there’s only “one PAC”, which is led by Moloto, who was elected leader at the Bloemfontein congress held on August 29 and 30, 2019.
“We have taken our matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal and we are determined the Supreme Court will decide in our favour and we can finally put this matter to rest because these are people who for years have been expelled, they continue to ignore that reality. We are saying to our members to continue to campaign, let's allow the legal process to unfold,” Bokaba said.
He further stated that they were confident the party would increase its present support base, based on the work they have done especially in the metros.
Meanwhile, PAC secretary-general Apa Pooe said following the court judgment, which ruled in their favour, that there was no longer a question of legality as to who the legal leader of the organisation is, hence they were allowed to register for the local government elections.
“We got a judgment in our favour and the congress that was held where Moloto was elected was set aside. It is in fact illegal for them to continue campaigning under the banner of the PAC because the outcome and everything that relates to them being elected to leadership of the PAC has been set aside,” he said.
Pooe also said that the confusion over the party’s leadership will have negative repercussions and as a party they are working hard to mitigate the negative impact the whole thing would have on their performance in the upcoming local government election.
The North Gauteng High Court judgment was based on a technicality after Moloto’s notice of appeal of an earlier ruling was not received by the registrar of the court. The court said his notice was probably not properly filed and as such was defective and therefore should fail.
The court also declared Moloto’s election as president and his national executive committee (NEC) in a separate elective conference, as unlawful and invalid. This after the factions held separate elective congresses within a week of each other in August 2019 and elected both Moloto and Nyhontso as president.
Both warring factions confirmed that they will be contesting in seven provinces excluding the Northern Cape and North West.