ConCourt dismisses Shilowa application

2012-05-08 16:36

Cape Town - The Constitutional Court has dismissed with costs an application by Cope co-founder Mbhazima Shilowa regarding his expulsion from the party, Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota said on Tuesday.

"Mr Shilowa, in one of his familiar but futile efforts to overturn his expulsion from the Congress of the People, had finally taken the party to the Constitutional Court," Lekota told journalists at Parliament.

The series of court battles lost by Shilowa bore incontestable testimony to the fact that there never existed any legal basis for his claim to the leadership of the party, he said.

This development opened the way for the leadership of the party, its members, and supporters to proceed with maximum speed to "energise the party renewal programme".

This was in preparation for holding regional congresses before July 2 and provincial congresses before August 13.

This would ensure the party was ready to hold its national congress before the end of October, Lekota said.

In February 2011, Lekota announced Shilowa had been expelled from the party for mismanaging parliamentary funds - a charge Shilowa has consistently denied.

- SAPA