"No amount of injustice and heavy handed approach will stop us"

The ANCYL in Limpopo welcomes the decision of the Gauteng South High Court handed this morning in the matter between Cde Masoga Lehlogonolo and the ANCYL. It must be recalled that the case was divided into two parts: the first was an urgent application and the second was the merits of the case. The urgent part of the case was disposed of today, while the merits of the case will be determined in the future.

The main reason for the finding of the judge is that the case should not have been postponed on Tuesday, if it was urgent. He did not wish to entertain the fact that the postponement on Tuesday was as a result of an agreement in good faith between Cde Masoga and the ANCYL. The ANCYL unfortunately made an about turn, and reneged on the understanding that the matter must be referred to the ANC for political intervention. Cde Masoga was compelled to return to court because the ANCYL had negotiated in bad faith and reneged on an agreement reached with him.

As anticipated, the National Disciplinary Committee continued with its sitting this morning to find Cde Masoga guilty of charges, which are clearly contrived. The despite the fact that Cde Masoga was never allowed to present evidence in defending himself and being deprived of a representative as provided for in the disciplinary code, the NDC went ahead to conclude its business and found our leader guilty. This amount to a worst form of injustice and a violation of the principles of fairness and justice as provided for in the code.

Cde Masoga has been found guilty of walking out of a conference that was duly adjourned by the legitimate provincial leadership who convened it and organising a provincial general council to brief branches about the visit of the Secretary General of the ANCYL and her team to resolve the post-Makhado political stalemate. It is very puzzling to note that he was found innocent for not presenting a political report to conference which effectively militates against the argument that the conference was legitimate and the fourth charge could not even be entertained.

It must be reiterated that Cde Masoga did not present even a shred of evidence or called any witness to defend himself. As anybody who has anything to do with the law will know, it is a fundamental principle of the law that every person must be given an opportunity to present his side of the story before they are condemned. Cde Masoga was condemned in his absence, and after his representatives were frog-marched out of the enquiry. This is indeed a classical example of a Kangaroo court style injustice.  No amount of injustice and heavy handed approach will stop us from exercising our democratic rights and pursuing our political goals. The agenda to eliminate our leadership and fellow comrades from the organisation will be fought against with the courageous tenacity and ferocity until victory is certain. We view today's outcome as an inconsequential minor setback and we ready ourselves to confront the real war once the sanction has been imposed.

Statement issued by Eric Hlungwani, ANC Youth League Limpopo, July 16 2010

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