Court case involving 10 MK Party members disputing their removal as MPs halted

CAPE TOWN - There’s been an abrupt pause in a High Court case involving ten uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party members who are disputing their removal as parliamentarians. 

They approached the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday in an attempt for an urgent interdict to stop the party from replacing them. 

The court has been told the party’s leader Jacob Zuma behaved in an autocratic manner when he summarily dismissed them last month.

The court heard that Zuma removed the disgruntled MPs because they did not possess the right skills to serve as parliamentarians. 

The ten are part of a larger group of 18, expelled by the party last month, and consequently losing their parliamentary seats. 

Two of them, however, returned to their jobs at a swearing-in ceremony for eight replacements last week. 

The applicants are asking the court to stop National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza from swearing in any more new members until the court can review the process followed to fire them. 

But after only an hour of arguments, the court was informed the party might have reached an agreement with the applicants and proceedings were immediately halted. 

What this agreement might be, however, is still unclear at this time.