The Comrades' Marathon Association is again under the spotlight and Mc Naught and Co Director Mark Leathers secured a High Court Order against the Association yesterday.
Representing himself and 70 other Members of the Association, the Applicants secured a Court interdict as a preliminary measure, pending the final outcome of the Court Application, stopping the Association from barring out-of-Province Members from voting at a Special General and other meetings of the Association who have called into question the way the Association is being managed.
The special general meeting will discuss claimed racism within the board, allegations of vote rigging and bussing in of voters. These allegations have been highlighted in a recent article by blogger, Stuart Mann, who claims the Association has been captured or hijacked by new members being paid for by certain board members and who haven't followed the correct membership channels and are then being "bussed" in for free food and drinks bringing pre-arranged voting slips as to what and who to vote for at the AGM.
The Applicants in the present Court Application include former race winners Bruce Fordyce, Shaun Meikeljohn, and other prominent members who are travelling to Pietermaritzburg from all over the country to discuss the way forward to prevent the irregular membership trend and bussing in of set-up voters. The Association had arbitrarily, as claimed by the Applicants, sought to implement the concept adopted by the KZN Athletic Association, to block out-of-Province Members from having a say or vote at meetings. This they claim is against the Constitution of the Comrades' Marathon Association and would prevent members like Bruce Fordyce from having a say or vote in the Association's meetings, whereas new members paid for en block by board members and whose memberships have been irregularly processed would have a vote.
The effect of the interim court order, which was opposed by the CMA, will be to continue to allow Bruce Fordyce and other out-of-Province members to have their say and vote unless and until the Court Application is finalised or the Constitution of the CMA changed by a 2/3rds majority vote and following correct procedures.
Mc Naught and Co were previously successful against the Comrades' Marathon Association in the High Court when they attempted to block the Russian, Alexandra Morozova, from running in the race and also subsequently blocked from collecting her prize money when she won the ladies' race.
Read more here :
https://runningmann.co.za/2024/08/07/how-they-captured-comrades/#more-8423