Menzi Magubane
The South African Football Association (Safa) presidential election will go ahead as planned on 25 June after the Pretoria high court rejected Ria Ledwaba’s urgent application to stop it.
Judge Brenda Neukircher ruled that the application be struck off the roll for lack of urgency. She further ruled that Ledwaba pay all the court costs, per TimesLive.
Ledwaba, who is Safa vice-president, will stand for the election next Saturday against incumbent Danny Jordaan and Solly Mohlabeng who is Safa’s Tshwane president.
However, last Tuesday she applied for the interdict that surprised many alleging various constitutional and procedural irregularities.
The following day Ledwaba had an urgent press conference in Soweto where she publicly made it clear that she will never back down on her plans to go head to head with Jordaan in the election.
“I can never be bullied by anyone. I would not worship any person. I would worship that document called the statutes of the South African Football Association.
“Everytime you speak you must tell us which statutes tell you to do so. If I send a circular it must be guided by the statutes,” said Ledwaba last week.
The court rejection will not go down well with her and her camp.
If she decides to take this matter further, perhaps to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it won’t be her first.
CAS has already rejected her once last month after she lodged a complaint against the National Executive Committee’s constitutional changes.
Before she went to CAS she was rejected by both CAF and Fifa.
Ledwaba is determined to get Jordaan replaced as Safa president but with several obstacles in her way, it looks increasingly likely that the current president will remain in his role.
Image source: @Goal
