The ANC Youth League’s leadership in the Western Cape is heading to court in a battle over its legitimacy.

A group calling itself the ANCYL activists claims the leadership team is illegitimate because its term ended early this year. Its urgent application was due to be heard in the High Court in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon.

It is one of many court battles in the lead-up to the ANC national elective conference which begins in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Earlier this week‚ the High Court in Grahamstown dismissed a bid to nullify the Eastern Cape’s provincial congress; and the party in KwaZulu-Natal wants to appeal against a ruling that nullified the provincial leadership.

In Bloemfontein‚ the High Court heard an application by disgruntled party members on Thursday to block the provincial leadership from sending delegates to the elective conference.

In the Western Cape matter‚ the first applicant is provincial executive committee member Luvuyo Mpofu‚ who describes the leadership team in court papers as illegitimate and asks the judge to overturn its decision to hold regional elective conferences.

He wants the court to declare “null and void the outcomes of all regional congresses held so far [and direct] ... that the planned and forthcoming regional and provincial congresses are interdicted and restrained from taking place”.

He also wants an order declaring the provincial leadership “illegitimate‚ unlawful and unconstitutional and/or a group of persons claiming to be members of the PEC to be acting unconstitutionally and unlawfully.”

Andile Mbali‚ the provincial secretary‚ says in court papers: “It is clear that the construction that makes practically more sense is that in the event that the provincial congress is not held‚ the PEC elected in the previous congress will remain in office until the provincial congress is held‚” he says‚ adding that Mpofu’s application is not urgent.