Africa-Press – South-Africa. The MK Party has gone to the Constitutional Court seeking to have President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to suspend police minister Senzo Mchunu revoked.
This comes after KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive allegations that Mchunu was interfering with police investigations.
In an address to the nation last Sunday, Ramaphosa announced he had suspended Mchunu, was appointing law academic Prof Firoz Cachalia as acting police minister effective from August 1 and setting up a judicial commission of inquiry to be headed by acting deputy chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga to investigate the allegations.
On Tuesday he appointed minister of mineral and petroleum resources Gwede Mantashe as acting minister of police with immediate effect until Cachalia takes office.
In court papers the party challenged Ramaphosa’s decisions as “irrational”, “invalid”, and inconsistent with obligations in the constitution and presidential oath of office, calling for the three executive decisions to be set aside.
“Declaring that the conduct or decisions of the president to establish the judicial commission of inquiry is irrational and/or inconsistent with the obligations in section 83(b) of the constitution and/or the presidential oath of office, read with sections 84(2)(f), 177, 178(4) and/or 180 of the constitution and is invalid,” the court papers read.
Former president Jacob Zuma is the first applicant and the MK Party the second applicant, while respondents cited in the application are Ramaphosa, Mchunu, Mantashe, Cachalia and Madlanga.
In the urgent application the party has asked Ramaphosa to make “constitutionally compliant decisions within 15 days”.
It has given the respondents until 10am on Monday to indicate if they will oppose the application and until 5pm on Tuesday to lodge their response. The party will then file its reply by Thursday and parties should deliver heads of argument by Friday.
The court action came as MK Party supporters marched to the Union Buildings and police headquarters in Pretoria on Friday to hand over memorandums calling for Mchunu to be prosecuted and Mkhwanazi protected.
Similar marches were held nationally during the week and the MK Party has said it will continue with the protests.
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