The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has set aside the African National Congress's (ANC's) chaotic May 2022 Ekurhuleni regional conference in which Mzwandile Masina was elected leader.

"The eighth regional conference of the Ekurhuleni region of the ANC, held at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways on 27 to 29 May 2022, and all decisions, resolutions and election results emanating from the conference are set aside," Judge Denise Fisher ruled on Monday.

The verdict means that the conference will have to be reconvened. 

A group of disgruntled ANC members took the matter to court last year after the conference was marred by fraud allegations and the allegedly unfair exclusion of branches.

In the judgment on Monday, Fisher said the ANC's own constitution was not adhered to by TK Nciza, who oversaw the preparations for the conference at the time. Nciza was elected as regional secretary at the conference.

The judge also said Nciza and ANC first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane unilaterally decided to exclude some branches from participating in the conference.

"In order to conform to constitutional prescripts of justice and fairness, the taking of decisions must be in accordance with an empowering rule and must be procedurally fair. If the decision to qualify a member of a branch is not taken in a procedurally and substantively fair manner and this has a material effect on the rights of the applicants, the applicants are entitled to relief," the judgment stated. 

The judge found that it was clear that the procedures in the lead-up to and after the conference were not based on the law. 

"Undoubtedly, the processes leading to the exclusion of the branches had no foundations in the guidelines or the constitution. The decision by Mokonyane to disqualify these branches on the purported complaint of Nciza is unlawful and void."

The judge added that the fact that the national organising committee of the ANC concluded that the results of the conference should be quarantined, showed that there was a problem with fairness and adherence to rules.

The ANC national executive committee (NEC) was also criticised for not deciding on what actions to take concerning irregularities raised.

The NEC decided to refer the matter relating to disqualified branches and quarantined votes back to the provincial executive committee (PEC) after marathon meetings that ran into the early morning. 

The Gauteng ANC PEC decided shortly after its conference in July that the regional conference matter had been settled. 

The judge said," In this case, the entire lapse in process was so egregious that it evidences a complete disregard for the application of fair process on the part of the national organising committee."

"The NEC followed this up by abdicating its responsibility to a conflicted PEC, led by their very actor whose conduct was under scrutiny. In my mind, in doing this, it acted contrary to its duties under its own constitution and denied the applicants of their rights."

The Ekurhuleni ANC was supposed to hold a special regional council in June to replace Masina as leader and Nciza. 

Masina resigned as a councillor in November 2022 after a bitter spat with the Gauteng ANC over its coalition strategy. He was elected as an ANC NEC member at the ANC's national elective conference in December.

Mokonyane said on Monday that she believed the election of the ANC's Gauteng leadership would not be affected by the court's decision.

Speaking to News24 on the sidelines of a  wreath-laying ceremony of predecessor, Jessie Duarte, Mokonyane said she had not heard about the judgment yet, and would speak to the party's lawyers about the way forward.

"But I don't think that [the court judgment] will affect the PEC of the ANC. It is branch delegates that attend a conference, and not only regional leadership. The lawyers will reflect on that. This is my own immediate response. Interpreting [the judgment] and understanding it in its entirety is important. We will be going to the office now [and] we will be hearing from the lawyers," Mokonyane said.