Battle for control of Comrades Marathon Association hits stumbling block

The legal battle for control of the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) is on hold for now — this means a meeting at the end of November to elect a record seven new board members will be determined by all existing members, including those who live outside KwaZulu-Natal.

In August, 76 members of the CMA obtained an interim interdict stopping the implementation of a KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) edict that out-of-towners were not entitled to attend or vote at CMA meetings.

This was based on KZNA’s “domicile rule”, which applies to athletics clubs.

But ahead of the special general meeting (SGM) in August, Pietermaritzburg high court judge Rob Mossop granted an interim interdict which put the KZNA’s ruling on ice, and the meeting went ahead with all current CMA members attending and voting.

On Wednesday, disgruntled members were seeking the finalisation of the interdict, pending a further application to review and set aside KZNA’s ruling.

While the CMA has agreed to abide by any ruling of the court, the KZNA wanted the interim interdict to be set aside.

However, the matter was not argued, in part because KZNA filed its answering affidavit out of time.

Once all the papers are in, including heads of argument, the parties will apply for a new date for argument.

In essence, the disgruntled CMA members believe KZNA is seeking to take over the running of the association by diluting membership.

They say the CMA is not a club as defined by the KZNA constitution, but a special member, and its domicile rule — that athletes have to belong to an affiliated club in their provinces — does not apply to it and that the KZNA has no right to dictate to the CMA regarding its internal policies, procedures, governance or membership.

Previously this rule had not applied and it was widely seen as a political move.

August’s SGM came at a crucial time for the CMA which had been rocked by allegations of racism, with some board members claiming that 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 marshalls” — 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 an affidavit in the urgent application, CMA member and attorney Mark Leathers, with the backing of the 76 members including Comrades veteran Bruce Fordyce, said on August 12, just three days before the scheduled meeting, that the CMA issued a media statement giving notice of various resolutions adopted by KZNA.

The effect was any member living outside KZN would not be able to participate fully in any general meetings of the CMA, including the SGM.

But the interdict changed that, and everyone could participate. The SGM also voted for members to attend meetings virtually in future.

Since the SGM, five members of the board have resigned and there are now seven seats that need to be filled at the annual meeting on November 30.

In his affidavit opposing the finalisation of the interdict, KZNA president Steve Mkasi said the court, in granting the interim relief, lacked authority because the effect conflicted with the National Sports and Recreation Act, which laid down an alternative dispute resolution process, including mediation.

Mkasi questioned whether the 76 CMA members — cited as applicants — really knew the implications of the court action.

He accused Leathers of embarking on a “flash social media campaign” promising there would be no cost implications in the litigation. He surmised the 76 members did not know there could be an adverse costs order granted against them should the applications fail.

Mkasi said Leathers, as an attorney, was guilty of touting, which is prohibited by the Legal Practice Council Code.

He was “abusing his position as an attorney and soliciting work to push a political agenda”, he said.

Mkasi insisted the CMA was a member of and subject to the rules and regulations of the KZNA and the organisation had the power to impose requirements on the CMA’s membership in the interests of the sport of athletics in the province. 

Leathers said the personal allegations against him were defamatory.

“I deny I have touted or contravened the LPC code of conduct. I have not abused my position. What I have done is to tender my time and services, free of charge or any personal gain, to fellow members who sought my legal assistance. These allegations are not only unfounded and false but defamatory in the extreme,” he said.

He said the act did not apply to either the CMA or the KZNA.

“The CMA constitution seeks to protect the rights of all members, in a way that would not discriminate against anyone on any ground whatsoever. The purported resolutions (by the KZNA) are in direct contrast with the spirit of the institution named the Comrades Marathon, which can be described as a national treasure. It is not, nor has it even been, a provincial event. 

“The resolution completely disregards the existing right of members of the CMA who reside outside KZN. It summarily attempts to divest such members of their existing rights and that is simply not permissible in law,” Leathers said.

In the meantime, KZNA has called its own SGM for October 26. On its agenda is a proposed amendment to the definition of “special members” to limit their membership to only KZN province.

TimesLIVE has seen a response to this by Collegians Harrierspresident Werner Jonas in which he challenges the authority for the meeting. He says a special meeting has to be endorsed by two-thirds of the board, or more than 50% of affiliated clubs.

He said that there was no official board meeting, but instead a request “via WhatsApp” which is legally impermissible.

Should the meeting not be cancelled, Jonas said the club reserved its rights to take legal action.