Former president Jacob Zuma appearing before the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday. (Alfonso Nqunjana/News24)

• The former leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, Jabulani Khumalo, is contesting the leadership of the party in the Electoral Court, sitting in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.
• He alleged communication to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) about the party’s leadership was forged.
• Both the IEC and advocates for Zuma and the MK Party said the case was being heard in the wrong court.

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party says an urgent application against it and its leader, Jacob Zuma, was being heard in the wrong court as a charge of forgery was a criminal case and not a case for the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The case is being heard in the Electoral Court, sitting the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

The dispute centres around the leadership of the MK Party, with allegations of forgery and internal party conflicts being brought before the Electoral Court.

This after party founder Jabulani Khumalo filed an urgent application to the Electoral Court to have the decision to remove him as leader and replace him with former president Jacob Zuma declared invalid, unlawful, and set aside.

He also asked the IEC to record him as the party’s leader.

READ | Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla accused of forging Jabulani Khumalo’s resignation letter from MK Party

The IEC, however, said it did not have the power to replace or remove any political leaders and agreed the case was being heard in the wrong court.

In May, the IEC stated Khumalo wrote to it on 9 April to resign and said Zuma would take over as the leader and the face of the party.

On 7 May, it said it had received another communication from Khumalo on 5 May on behalf of the party, demanding it remove Zuma as its face and president.

“The commission reiterates its stance that it does not involve itself in internal affairs of political parties,” the IEC stated.

It added it merely acted on the instruction of the registered leader of the party.

“In the present case, Mr Jacob Zuma is the registered leader of the MK Party. This has been so since 10 April 2024,” the IEC said.

Khumalo denied writing a letter to the IEC announcing Zuma as the party’s leader.

He said while Zuma was the face of the party, he remained its leader.

Claims of forgery by Duduzile Zuma

Khumalo claimed the letter to the IEC conferring his powers to Zuma was forged by Duduzile Zuma, the former president’s daughter.

On Monday, Khumalo’s advocate, Mfesane Ka-Siboto, began by saying the case had nothing to do with the elections.

Ka-Siboto asked the court to compare two letters, one he said was written by Khumalo and the other written to the IEC stating Zuma was the party’s president.

He alleged the signatures on the papers were different, saying there were issues with the letterhead, which he added was copied.

This was their evidence that Khumalo did not confer the leadership to Zuma and the second letter was forged.

Some shut eye during a court session

Fifteen minutes into the address by Ka-Siboto, Zuma fell asleep. He was nudged awake by his council who was alerted to his nap by journalists snapping pictures of him on the bench.

Advocate Philisiwe May for the party and Zuma asked the court: “If this has nothing to do with the elections – why are we here on an urgent basis?”

She said Khumalo was asking the IEC to act above its mandate, as it did not have any power to determine who the party leader was.

Therefore, May added, Khumalo could not ask the court to order the IEC to reinstate him as the party’s head.

After tea, advocate Dali Mpofu for the MK and Zuma apologised to the court for the “frivolous defamatory” case, which he argued was a criminal case as it related to perjury and not a case for the Electoral Court.

In his usual tongue-in-cheek way, he spoke about the length of Ka-Siboto’s address to the court, “wherein he becomes a hand-writing expert”.

He said Zuma and his daughter would consider charges of defamation because of the serious nature of the allegations.

He spoke for over an hour.

Advocate Mitchell De Beer for the IEC told the court the commission did not declare Zuma the leader, so there was nothing for it to review.

He agreed the case should be heard in a criminal court.

Meanwhile, outside the court, supporters of Zuma and the party gathered to catch a glimpse of the former president who was set to speak on a small platform after the court appearance.

As Khumalo left, they hurled insults and threw random objects at him. This resulted in a fender bender as he drove away.

Judgment was reserved.