Celani Sikhakhane
Ace Magashule’s presidential hopes took a major blow on Wednesday after the Constitutional Court threw out his application to appeal his suspension as secretary-general of the ANC.
Magashule was suspended from the party in May 2021 after he was implicated in a corruption scandal surrounding a R255 million asbestos tender while he was premier of the Free State.
Whilst suspended in line with the ANC’s step-aside rule, Magashule announced in June that he intended to run for the position of ANC president at the National Elective Conference in December.
That ambition took a major hit on Wednesday when the apex court told Magashule that he stood no chance of successfully appealing his suspension.
“The Constitutional Court has considered the application for condonation and the application for leave to appeal. It has concluded that though there are no reasonable prospects of success on merits of the application for leave to appeal,” the judgment reads.
This marks the second time Magashule has failed in court to appeal his suspension. He only approached the Con Court after the Supreme Court of Appeal held up his suspension in January.
However, that decision didn’t stop him announcing his presidential bid, and so it is unlikely that he will be put off by the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
He will hope that the province of KwaZulu-Natal is going to back him in the December conference but the ANC’s newly-elected chairperson, Sboniso Duma, has already hinted that he will support President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second term.
