The Electoral Court on Monday reserved judgment in the application brought by expelled former leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, Jabulani Khumalo who is seeking reinstatement to the helm of the party.
The court heard that the application was a waste of the court’s time and abuse of court processes. This was submitted in court by advocate Dali Mpofu SC, representing the MK party and Zuma.
“I just want to start here by almost apologising that we have to be here with such a matter which is a waste of the court’s time, and that it is why in our heads (of argument) we say it is unfortunate and and embarrassing that this count has to convene on an urgent basis for a matter based on frivolous, baseless, unsubstantiated and false so-called evidence,” Mpofu told the packed court, sitting in the High Court in Johannesburg.
“This is at best an abuse of the court process and I talk about costs at the end,” he said.
“Essentially, what we are here for is a concoction of demonstrable lies by Mr Khumalo, made-up stories, defamation of character in particular of former president Zuma, [Zuma’s daughter, Ms Duduzile] Zuma-Sambudla, and the people who used to be in the interim national leadership corps with him.”
Khumalo insists that Zuma-Sambudla, in an act of forgery, wrote to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) purporting that he (Khumalo) was resigning and paving way for the former president to take the reins.
The letter to the IEC was accepted and the former president became the face of the MK party ahead of the May 29 elections, where it went on to score almost 15% of the national vote, and heavily humiliated the African National Congress across the KwaZulu-Natal province in the results released on Sunday.
Mpofu said Khumalo signed the letter and by denying it in court, he was committing a serious crime of perjury.
“What we have here is pure perjury by any definition, among other criminal charges. I will show you that there are at least two counts of perjury, maybe more,” Mpofu said.
“Mr Khumalo’s big thing here is that there are two versions – one is that Mr Khumalo wrote one letter to the IEC and the other one (letter) was forged, and the other one version is that Mr Khumalo, signed and sent two letters,” he said.
“Our version is based on the fact that he wrote two letters. Not only did he write the two letters, but the IEC has confirmed that it in fact received two letters and acted on them,” said Mpofu.
“In the course of doing that, Mr Khumalo who not only faces charges of perjury now, but will also have to go to the civil courts for the defamation of Ms (Duduzile) Zuma-Sambudla who has been defamed.”
Mpofu said, on behalf of the MK party, the relief he seeks is the dismissal of Khumalo’s application for reinstatement.
“We implore this court to express its most serious disapproval and opprobrium against the abuse of the process, against the fraudulent and criminal conduct that accompanies this (application) despite the general rule in this court, marking the applicant (Khumalo) with a punitive cost which should be a warning to other people who think that this is a playground for perjurers and other fraudsters to stay away from the courts and from the oath,” said Mpofu.
“That is what this is about. One is not only undermining the courts, but the oath as well. Anybody out there must think the oath is a play thing.”
Khumalo’s application beseeches the court to declare Zuma's ascension to the party's leadership as invalid and wants the court to compel the Electoral Commission of South Africa to register him as the party's leader.
Khumalo insists Zuma is “fraudulently” occupying the position.
Khumalo, who founded the MK party in December last year, was then ousted from the new party in April. Khumalo was expelled alongside Ray Khumalo, Bheki Manzini, Lebo Moepeng and Rochelle Davidson.
IOL