Court finds ANC in contempt over DA's cadre deployment records request

The ANC suffered another setback in its case against the DA after a court found that the governing party was in contempt of court for its failure to hand over all documents related to its cadre deployment committee.

The ANC was ordered to release unredacted cadre deployment records including draft minutes, notes, attendance registers, communications and decisions of the deployment committee within 15 working days.

The governing party and its secretary-general Fikile Mbalula were found to be in contempt of court by the Johannesburg high court on Wednesday for failure to hand over all the documents relating to the period Cyril Ramaphosa chaired the deployment committee. 

The DA launched an urgent contempt order application against the ANC after it did not provide it with all records of the deployment committee in its cadre deployment matter.

“The ruling confirms beyond all doubt that the ANC is a lawless criminal syndicate that is prepared to trigger a constitutional crisis to hide the fact that its corrupt cadre deployment committee is the root cause of state capture, corruption and service delivery failure,” said the DA's shadow minister of public service and administration, Leon Schreiber. 

The ANC now has two weeks to:

• Provide to the DA all the information related to the processes and decisions of the ANC cadre deployment committee January 1 2013 to January 1 2021, including but not limited to minutes, draft minutes, notes, attendance registers, communications and decisions of the deployment committee whether prepared by or communicated to staff members of the ANC, members of the committee, chairs of the committee, and government officials; and emails, WhatsApps and other social media communications between and among members of the committee and between committee members, committee chairs and government officials.
• Provide the DA with copies of all attachments to emails, WhatsApps and other social media communications.
• Make available the following items to a neutral third-party information technology expert agreed to by the DA for the purposes of extracting information required to be disclosed by the court order: the hard drive and laptop of ANC official Thapelo Masilela; the personal email of Masilela; and the laptop of ANC official Lungi Mtshali.
• The ANC is directed to report to the court and to the DA’s attorneys, in writing and under oath, of its compliance with the court order.
• The ANC is ordered to pay the costs of this application on the attorney and client scale, including the costs of two counsel.

The DA has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa “to act in accordance with his position as president to bring an end to this escalating constitutional crisis triggered by his party, by abiding by the ruling and handing over to the DA all of his personal emails, WhatsApps and other communication revealing the role he personally played in state capture through his position as ANC cadre deployment chairperson”.

Schreiber said: “While the ANC is clearly prepared to go to any length to hide its dirty cadre deployment secrets and undermine the rule of law, there is fortunately no limit to the DA’s determination to uphold the rule of law and abolish cadre deployment corruption from the face of this country.”