Legal counsel for the founder of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, Jabulani Khumalo has argued that the letter sent to the Electoral Commission for the change in party leadership was forged.
Advocate Mfesane Ka-Siboto says there is enough evidence to conclude that the daughter of the former president, Jacob Zuma forged the letter.
Ka-Siboto says Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla deliberately did not copy Khumalo in the email correspondence to the commission.
Ka-Siboto is representing Khumalo in the Electoral Court in an urgent application to reinstate him as MK Party leader.
‘The letter from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to Mr Khumalo communicated that he does not wish to change the party leader. The IEC itself says that. They say Mr Khumalo said over a telephone call that he does not wish to change the leader of the MK Party. She then responds to that email, omits Mr Khumalo’s name as a copied party and furnishes this purported resignation letter by my client. She, in that letter says, I Mr Khumalo resign and I appoint Mr Zuma as the president of uMkhonto weSizwe. Mr Khumalo had no knowledge of this letter,” says Ka-Siboto.
Khumalo’s lawyers have also argued that Zuma’s daughter had no authority to remove Khumalo as party leader.
According to Regulation 9 that deals with the registration of political parties, a change in the particulars of a registered political party must be notified to the Chief Electoral Officer in writing within 30 days after such change by the registered contact person or the leader of the party.
Ka-Siboto says Zuma-Sambudla is neither the contact person nor the leader of the party as required by the regulation.
“In light of the fact that the IEC knows that Ms Zuma-Sambudla is not the leader of the party, they should not have accepted her communication because that is in violation of Regulation 9. We say this is very important even if there was no amendment to say it was there, she is not even the contact person.”
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