By Sipho Nkosi
ANC National Executive Committee member Andile Lungisa filed urgent papers at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on 11 September 2026, suing ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and the party itself over his sudden removal from the proportional representation candidate list for Nelson Mandela Bay. The court challenge, first reported by Times Live, targets Mbalula’s alleged instruction to delete Lungisa’s name after he had already been shortlisted as a mayoral candidate for the 4 November local government elections.
In his founding affidavit, Lungisa states: “Mr Mbalula convened the meeting … and instructed the officials to remove my name.” He argues the removal flouted the ANC’s own candidate-selection rules, which require 80 percent agreement of the extended NEC to change a finalised list.
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa had publicly announced Lungisa as a shortlisted mayoral candidate at a party event in August. Lungisa, who was endorsed by branches, the provincial list conference, and the NEC, wants the court to declare the removal unlawful and order his immediate reinstatement.
“I remain a member of the ANC,” Lungisa told supporters in Nelson Mandela Bay, according to Africa Daily.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula confirmed receiving Lungisa’s lawyers’ letter but declined to discuss the merits publicly. Speaking to SABC News, he said: “It’s a matter that I will settle in court, and I have to respect that process because whatever I’m going to say on behalf of the ANC … will be used against me in a court of law.”
The ANC and Mbalula were given until Monday 14 September to file answering affidavits. Lungisa’s legal representative, Makangela Mtungani, lodged the application, which has been set down for a hearing on 26 September.
The legal fight exposes deep internal rifts within the ANC ahead of the polls. Lungisa, a long-time Eastern Cape powerbroker with a history of clashes with the party’s Veterans’ League, has rejected offers from opposition parties, insisting on his loyalty. His exclusion comes as the ANC battles administrative crises in several provinces, with the party even approaching courts to reopen candidate lists elsewhere.
What remains unclear is whether the ANC will contest the application or seek to settle the dispute through internal processes. The outcome could determine not only the party’s mayoral contender in a key metro but also set a precedent for how candidate-list disputes are resolved.
Cape Flats News journalist Sipho Nkosi will follow the 26 September hearing and report back.