The Makhanda High Court ruled on June 18, 2026 [2], that the appointment of the African National Congress (ANC) Eastern Cape Provincial Task Team was unlawful.
This ruling undermines the authority of the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) in the region and creates a leadership vacuum by stripping the appointed team of its legal standing. The decision follows a legal challenge regarding how the party manages its internal provincial governance.
The court declared the appointment of the 40-member team [1] unconstitutional and unlawful. The ruling sets aside the previous NEC decision to establish the group to replace the Provincial Executive Committee.
Applicants in the case, including ANC member Lwazi Rotya, said the party did not follow proper procedural rules during the appointment process. The legal team said the failure to adhere to these regulations rendered the task team's existence invalid from its inception.
While some reports indicate the application was brought by Rotya and a group of others, other accounts state that three dissatisfied members approached the Eastern Cape High Court to initiate the proceedings. Regardless of the number of applicants, the court found the procedural lapses sufficient to nullify the appointment.
The ruling forces the ANC to address the governance of the Eastern Cape province. The party must now determine whether to restart the appointment process or revert to a previous leadership structure to ensure constitutional compliance within its own framework.
“The court declared the appointment of the 40-member team unconstitutional and unlawful.”
This judgment highlights a growing tension between the ANC's national leadership and provincial members over the legality of 'task teams' used to bypass traditional electoral or committee structures. By ruling that internal party procedures must align with constitutional and legal standards, the court limits the NEC's ability to unilaterally impose leadership in the Eastern Cape without strict adherence to the party's own rules.
