ANC in KZN to march against judiciary on May 15

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has declared war on the judiciary and is planning a mass march against it next Monday.

KwaZulu-Natal ANC secretary Super Zuma said on Wednesday that faced with increasing “encroachment on political and executive matters” by the judiciary‚ the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal will hold a day of mass action aimed at defending their vote on Monday‚ May 15.

The branch however warded off suggestions that it was a pro-President Jacob Zuma march in retaliation for the rampant anti-Zuma marches that have taken the country by storm. They said it was a decision taken following a provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting.

It comes as the parliamentary call for a motion of no confidence in Zuma is temporarily halted pending a Constitutional Court hearing on Monday and judgment on a secret ballot for the vote.

• ConCourt challenge on Zuma’s decision to sack Gordhan premature: law expertThe application by the Helen Suzman Foundation to challenge President Jacob Zuma’s decision to fire former finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy is “premature”‚ a political analyst says. 

He said the judgment of the court – expected to be delivered on that day – in favour of a frivolous vote of no confidence against Zuma would be a judiciary overreach. Last week‚ North Gauteng High Court Judge Bashier Vally also ruled that President Zuma should furnish the DA with reasons behind his reshuffling of the cabinet last month.

“ANC MPs in parliament represent members of our movement and the supporters who voted the ANC into power. Therefore the use of judiciary by the opposition parties undermines the principle of separation of powers‚” said Zuma.

• Ramaphosa's presidential bid buoyed by Zuma misstepsCyril Ramaphosa’s campaign to become South Africa’s next president has gone into overdrive. 

“It’s not a pro-who or anti-who march‚ but the leader of society which is the ANC is the one that is embarking on this march‚” said Zuma.

KwaZulu-Natal ANC spokesman Mdumiseni Ntuli‚ who addressed the media briefing with Zuma‚ questioned why the judiciary had this “appetite to encroach on political matters”.

“Only in South Africa when you can have a judge ruling on the matters of the executive. It is strange and dangerous. The executive is the one that implement and monitors‚ not the judiciary. There’s a clear separation of powers from these organs of the state‚” he said.

He said the judiciary was therefore overstretching its legal mandate.

• Judgment forcing Zuma to explain Cabinet reshuffle shows state is not above the constitution‚ says analystThe reasons given by Judge Bashir Vally in his judgment forcing President Jacob Zuma to explain his cabinet reshuffle is an indication that the state is not above the constitution‚ says constitutional analyst Shadrack Gutto. 

Zuma and Ntuli blamed the opposition parties saying they lost elections in 2014 and that is why they were now resorting to using the courts. “Hence our day of mass action‚ it’s a clear attempt by those who contested and lost elections to want to rule using our courts‚” said Ntuli. Zuma said the ANC spent 80 years fighting for the disenfranchised and they don’t want that vote to be undermined.

TMG Digital/TimesLIVE