More than 70 paid up members of the Comrades Marathon Association, including veteran winners Bruce Fordyce and Shaun Meikeljohn, have secured an urgent interdict allowing them to attend and vote at Thursday’s special general meeting (SGM) of the organisation.
The members approached the Pietermaritzburg high court on Wednesday after the CMA claimed KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) insisted only members resident in KwaZulu-Natal were allowed to have a say at the crucial meeting.
While both the CMA and KZNA sent lawyers to court to oppose the application, judge Rob Mossop gave them short shrift and granted the interdict, preventing the CMA from curtailing membership rights in any way.
The matter will return to court on October 23 when the members are expected to ask for further orders declaring that CMA is not a club as defined by the KZNA constitution but an associate member and its “domicile rule” - athletes have to belong to an affiliated club in their provinces - does not apply to it and the KZNA has no right to dictate to the CMA regarding its internal policies, procedures, governance or membership.
The court action followed a last-minute ruling by KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) effectively banning CMA members who live outside of the province from participating in “strategic discussions” or voting at the meeting.
Previously this rule has not applied and it was widely seen as a political move.
The SGM comes at a crucial time for the CMA which has been rocked by allegations of racism, with some board members claiming now ousted CMA race and operations manager Ann Ashworth, and other members, were trying to make the board “vanilla” by packing in new white members.
At the same time, other members have accused some board members of trying to “capture” the organisation by giving membership to more than 200 “community marshals” - none of whom are athletes - but who have voting powers, are reportedly told who to vote for and are considered to be a “most powerful bloc”.
The SGM was called by members who wanted to address governance concerns and possible changes to the constitution.
In their request for the meeting, they said said they wanted to discuss “alleged or purported racism within the board”, allegations of vote buying by members of the board “the so-called bussing in of voters and irregularities within the community marshals’ portfolio”, the sudden termination of Ashworth’s contract, and an amendment to the constitution relating to the manner of attendance and voting at general meetings and the election of board members.
The CMA initially said it did not have money to hold an SGM, but then set the date for August 15.
In an affidavit in the urgent application CMA member and attorney Mark Leathers, with the backing of 76 members, said on August 12, just three days before the scheduled meeting, the CMA published a media statement giving notice of various resolutions adopted by KZNA.
The effect was that any member living outside of KZN would not be able to participate fully in any general meetings of the CMA, including the SGM.
“The members were immediately concerned about this, particularly those who had already booked their travel and accommodation to attend the meeting,” Leathers said.
He said he emailed board chairman Mqundisi Ngcobo asking whether the KZNA resolution would be enforced at the SGM meeting on August 15 and at the 2024 annual general meeting due to be held in November.
Ngcobo confirmed the KZNA resolutions were effective immediately.
In a further statement, the CMA claimed in terms of KZNA rules, the CMA was a “club” and as such the “domicilian rule” applied to it. This meant existing members who live in other provinces or countries, could only retain membership as “volunteers” who had observer status at meetings.
But Leathers said this was not the legal position.
He said the CMA was not an affiliated club but an “associate member” of the KZNA and, as such, KZNA had no power to interfere with or influence its membership criteria.
And it was not a requirement for ordinary membership of the CMA the applicant be resident in the province.
“While it seeks to confer this arbitrary volunteer status on members residing outside the province, it has inexplicably allowed non-athlete volunteers from the community marshal volunteer portfolio, none of whom are registered athletes affiliated with the KZNA, to vote and fully participate in such proceedings. Such conduct is impermissible,” Leathers said.
“The CMA’s failure to follow due process and properly apply its mind to the practical consequences of the KZNA resolution not only compromises the legitimacy of the CMA but also calls into question the motives of the CMA board who are patently failing to act in the best interest of the association and its members.
“Throughout its rich and long history, the membership has consisted of runners and volunteers located throughout South Africa and around the world.”
Leathers said the members would bring an application to review and set aside the resolutions in the interim wanted the interdict, preventing the CMA from curtailing membership rights in any way.
A source told TimesLIVE Premium those attending the meeting would be expected to verify their credentials. This was because of allegations in the past that some alleged members, with seemingly no interest in the CMA, were being bussed in and told how to vote in return for free food and drink.
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