29 March 2025 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) welcomes the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling, handed down on 25 March 2025, in which the court dismissed the Applicants’ (Ria Ledwaba and Solly Mohlabeng) application for leave to appeal on grounds that there are no reasonable prospects of success in the appeal, and that there are no compelling reasons in law as to why the appeal should be heard by the by the court.
This appeal was dismissed with costs, including costs of two Counsels, one being that of a Senior Counsel. Effectively, the High Court’s judgment which prevented the disgruntled members of SAFA, Ms. Ria Ledwaba and Mr. Solly Mohlabeng, from overturning the SAFA 2022 Presidential electoral outcome following their decisive loss, remains in effect. The SCA’s ruling reaffirms that in a democracy, the will of the voters is final, regardless of how hard the defeat may be to swallow.
There needs to come a time where the electorate’s voting choices are accepted and respected by Ledwaba and Mohlabeng, even if the said choices do not correlate with their desired outcome; for democracy is only as strong as our willingness to honour its outcome(s).
Since inception, the courts have been clear in their unequivocal rejection of the continued efforts by Ledwaba and Mohlabeng to disrupt the administration of football in the country, as well as to undermine the processes of SAFA.
History of the matter
In October 2022, after suffering a resounding defeat in the SAFA Presidential elections, Ms. Ledwaba and Mr. Mohlabeng sought to overturn the results. In a bid to pursue their misguided agenda, they launched an Application at the Pretoria division of the High Court, seeking to invalidate, overturn and set aside the electoral outcome, all of which was fer-fetched.
SAFA opposed the application, standing firm in defence of its members who participated in the fair and democratic voting process, whilst also seeking to uphold SAFA’s statutes that govern the election and administration processes.
On 9 February 2024, the Pretoria division of the High Court, under Honourable Judge Holland-Muter, ruled that the Applicants no longer held membership and positions of authority at SAFA and within any of SAFA’s structures. As such, they had no legal right to invoke SAFA’s statutes and to pursue any disputes under the jurisdiction of SAFA.
The court dismissed their application with costs, including costs of two Counsels, one being that of a Senior Counsel.
Undeterred, and on 21 February 2024, Ledwaba and Mohlabeng filed for leave to appeal to the full bench of the High Court, citing that Honourable Judge Holland-Muter misinterpreted SAFA’s statutes in their submissions, all of which was incorrect and misguided.
Their leave to appeal to the full bench of the High Court was heard on 4 December 2024, and on 5 December 2024, the court (once again) ruled against them, on grounds that their appeal lacked reasonable prospects of success. The court further emphasised that no other court would reach a different conclusion, and that there were no compelling circumstances and points in law justifying consideration by a higher
court. Once again, their application for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs, including costs of a Senior Counsel.
Further undeterred and in denial of the Appeal Court’s ruling and reasons therein, Ledwaba and Mohlabeng filed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal on 09 January 2025, citing that their non-existent rights to invoke SAFA’s statuses were refused and violated.
On 25 March 2025, as mentioned above, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed their application with costs on grounds of no reasonable prospects of success and no compelling reasons in law as to why the appeal should be heard by the SCA, confirming the position of the full bench of the High Court in that no other court would likely arrive to a different conclusion. The voting choices of SAFA’s electorate must
accepted and respected. The voting procedures of SAFA must not be reduced to indignity.
Conclusion
This marks the sixth time in just two years that Ledwaba and Mohlabeng fail in her legal attempts to disrupt SAFA. Their consecutive court defeats expose her ongoing attempts to distract SAFA from its commitment to develop football in the country and beyond.
Despite these attempts, SAFA remains committed to its mission to use football as an instrument to promote social cohesion and to unite the country. Bafana Bafana’s impressive performance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers is testament to SAFA’s continued commitment to developing football in the country.
