The judgment on Monday for an application to interdict the now completed ANC Eastern Cape conference will largely be an academic exercise, newly elected provincial chair Oscar Mabuyane said on Sunday.
During his first media briefing in the position, Mabuyane seemed confident that the party would win the court case.
Attorney Mvuzo Notyesi approached the Eastern Cape High Court, sitting in East London on Sunday morning to interdict the conference from proceeding.
"Tomorrow, there is a judgment at 09.30 with an application that we think is largely an academic exercise because, really, you can't interdict a conference that has almost concluded its business," Mabuyane said.
He said the newly elected leadership had just met with its lawyers who assured them they would win the matter.
#ANCECConference Landslide win for Incoming chair Oscar Mabuyane and his camp @News24pic.twitter.com/cB345m27t0
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"We know it's a start. It's not the end. The next application we will be waiting for will be definitely the review to set aside the conference, [to] nullify it. Those are tricks that people are playing."
Notyesi, who lost a recent case against the outgoing ANC PEC to have OR Tambo regional elections nullified, was accused of trying to control the ANC.
He claimed that Notyesi and some who were his followers were working to destroy the ANC.
'Awarding anarchy'
Mabuyane skirted around questions on whether he would purge anyone in government, including his predecessor and opponent for the position Phumulo Masualle as premier.
He said the future of the ANC was determined by members, not the leadership, and that the ANC was separate from government.
"The conference of the ANC is not meant to elect deployees. There is a process in the ANC to process deployment. That has got absolutely nothing with the conference. The leadership of the ANC is not about government deployment - it's about serving our people," he said.
Mabuyane said he had communicated with Masualle during the violence that broke out at the event in the early hours of Sunday morning, which left eight people injured.
They would continue to contact each other.
We spoke and I also called him back later after we had spoken, indicating that the national leadership was continuing with the conference, therefore, they were looking for us to come back. They felt strongly that the conference cannot just be allowed to be disrupted. It would be basically awarding anarchy.
Mabuyane said Masualle indicated it would not be safe for him to come back.
Masualle disappeared shortly after delegates started throwing chairs at one another during the plenary. During the nomination process, he was nominated for the position of chairperson but the NEC was unable to reach him to hear whether he accepted or declined his nomination.
Masualle received seven votes while Mabuyane walked away with 935.
Mabuyane said he would extend an olive branch to the disgruntled PEC members to unite and resolve disputes.