Judgment reserved in Mbalula contempt case over raw data dispute

Judgment has been reserved in the High Court at KuGompo City in the application filed by ANC member Lwazi Rotya to have ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula declared in contempt of court.

Rotya alleges that Mbalula failed to comply with the court order to release raw data from Branch General Meetings held in preparation for the interdicted ANC Provincial Elective Conference.

The reason they want to obtain the data is that they suspect there were incidents of manipulation of processes, ID harvesting and fraudulent activities during these BGMs.

The applicants in this matter have argued that the ANC, led by Mbalula, failed to adhere to a court decision.

They claim they attempted to obtain the raw data but were sent from pillar to post.

Legal representative for the applicants, Adv Dali Mpofu, says his applicants have maintained that party processes were never followed when these Branch General Meetings were held.

“Raw data cannot be a spreadsheet.

An excel spreadsheet is, by definition, processed information.

Raw data, the use of the word, the adjective wrong, is not coincidental.

We are saying, we want the raw data as it came from the branches, unadulterated, unedited, unprocessed by anyone.

That’s the undertaking.

So, you (can’t) now give us some edited version where you’ve doctored.

What you allege in your founding affidavit, we complied with,” argued Mpofu.

Mbalula’s legal representative, Advocate Yusuf Saloojee, maintained that they have complied with the court’s ruling by making the raw data available.