Loyiso Masuku's election as ANC Greater Johannesburg chairperson has been re-affirmed by the Gauteng High Court ruling which dismissed an urgent application brought by former special advisor to current mayor, Dada Morero.
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The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has dismissed an urgent application aimed at overturning the recent election of the ANC’s regional chairperson, Loyiso Masuku.
The legal challenge, which was brought by Stan Itshegetseng, a former special advisor to the party’s former regional chairperson and current City of Johannesburg Mayor, Dada Morero, was dismissed on the basis of a lack of urgency.
The court’s ruling came after a hearing on March 27, where Judge Wilhelmina Elmien Jacoba du Plessis stated that the application lacked the required urgency for legal intervention.
“I accept that the applicant has acted out of genuine concern for the integrity of his party’s internal democracy and electoral processes,” Judge du Plessis noted. However, she concluded that Itshegetseng had failed to exhaust the internal dispute resolution mechanisms available within the ANC, stating, “The concern, however sincere, cannot override his obligation to the internal dispute resolution mechanisms.”
Early this year, the regional structure of the ANC faced significant legal and internal challenges following a contentious regional elective conference in December 2025, where Morero lost his chairperson position to Masuku.
The case highlighted internal party disputes, alleged vote-buying, irregularities in candidate listings, and issues with ballot design, with Itshegetseng arguing that the conference was manipulated. This was after the December 2025 conference elected Masuku as the first woman to hold the position of ANC regional chairperson.
Itshegetseng further argued that the company that oversaw the election of the top five and the additional members of the Regional Executive Committee (REC) was owned by a City of Joburg employee.
The ANC’s regional leadership, which has been grappling with the fallout from the December conference, recently attempted to recall Morero from his role as mayor after his defeat to Masuku. However, this move has been stalled by the party’s national leadership, temporarily leaving Morero entrenched in his position.
In January, internal party squabbles also led to allegations of vote-buying, with the party confirming that it was investigating claims that ballot papers were compromised. Reports claimed that some ballot papers were found open at a presiding officer’s home.
Despite dismissing Itshegetseng’s application, Judge du Plessis refrained from imposing any costs against him, recognising his legitimate concerns for the party’s democracy.
“I have had regard to the applicant’s submission that even if he were to fail on an urgency interim relief, no order as to costs should be made because he acted from a genuine concern for the ANC’s internal democracy and had attempted, unsuccessfully, to ventilate his complaints within the party,” the judge concluded.