This follows as the ANC said it would appeal the court ruling, which now means that the PEC will not be reinstated until this appeal process is over. OFM News' Pulane Choane reports that the spokesperson for the ANC in the North West, Kabelo Mataboge, says the province now awaits instructions from the party's headquarters in Gauteng.

Today (Friday) was set to be deadline day as per Judge Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane's ruling earlier this week, as she gave the ANC two days to reinstate the PEC. Mataboge, however, told OFM News that the province would not be able to kickstart the process of reinstating the PEC unless Luthuli House gives the party the go-ahead. Meanwhile, OFM News has learned that Deputy President David Mabuza is leading a team which will take to the province this weekend, with the hopes of fostering unity within the province to ensure that the party retains the province's support in the upcoming elections.

Former premier of the North West, Supra Mahumapelo, and four others took the ANC to court late last year after the ANC (national) decided that the PEC he was the chairperson of, must be disbanded. The party's national structure disbanded the PEC despite it having only six months left in its tenure as per the ANC constitution. The ANC then appointed a Provincial Task Team (PTT), which was headed by now chair of the ANC in the province, Job Mokgoro, who is also the Premier. Following this, Mahumapelo publicly stated that he believed that the disbanding of the PEC he chaired was part of the purging of ANC members that President Cyril Ramaphosa wanted to remove from government structures as part of his "New Dawn" campaign as the incoming president following his Nasrec victory in December 2017. Prior to consulting the court, the former leader said he had consulted the internal structures of the party but few ears were willing to listen. After a court battle with the ANC which almost lasted four months, on Wednesday the Gauteng High Court ruled in Mahumapelo’s favour, with Judge Kathree-Setiloane saying that the disbanding of the PEC was unfair and unlawful. OFM News could not reach Mahumapelo for comment on how he felt about this new development in the matter. OFM News could also not reach ANC spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa, for comment on when the ANC will file its appeal papers.

OFM News