- The EFF failed to convince the court to grant leave to appeal the judgment which declined to unseal the CR17 bank statements.
- The judge said there were no prospects of success should the matter be dealt with by another court.
- The bank statements were sealed following a directive from Gauteng Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba.
The EFF failed to get leave to appeal the ruling that declined to unseal the CR17 bank statements.
The court found there would be no prospect of success if the matter was to be argued in another court.
In 2021, the EFF failed to convince the court that it should reverse its decision to seal the statements.
The EFF was slapped with costs on Wednesday after it also failed to convince the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to grant leave to appeal the judgment which declined to unseal the CR17 bank statements.
In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa's CR17 campaign bank statements were sealed following a directive from Gauteng Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba.
This was after Ramaphosa's lawyers made a request on the basis that the bank statements contained confidential donor information.
The statements were initially obtained from the Financial Intelligence Centre by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane for her now invalidated report on the finances of the CR17 campaign.
When the report was challenged in court, Mkhwebane attached the statements to the court records.
Following the directive by Ledwaba, the EFF approached the court to force the disclosure of the statements.
In 2021, Judge Cassim Sardiwalla, who heard the application to unseal the statements, dismissed the application after finding the EFF had no right, nor was it in the interest of justice to reverse the directive.
"I can find no compelling reasons as to why the material should be disclosed to the public at large. The applicant has not advanced any public or private good that will be served by public disclosure as against the personal danger in which parties of the CR17 campaign concerned and their activities will be placed," Sardiwalla said in his ruling at the time.
On Wednesday, the EFF asked the court for leave to appeal the judgment by Sardiwalla.
The EFF argued that Sardiwalla's ruling "contradicts no fewer than three Constitutional Court and/or Supreme Court of Appeal judgments on the open justice principle", News24 previously reported.
The party further stated that Sardiwalla erred when he found that the EFF had failed to show it had any right to access those records.
"[Sardiwalla's] decision, with respect, endorsed secrecy," they argued.
The court papers read:
Sardiwalla, who heard the leave to appeal application on Wednesday, handed down his ruling straight after arguments were concluded.
"I am satisfied that there are no prospects of success should the matter be dealt with by another court," Sardiwalla said.
He subsequently dismissed the application with costs.
If the EFF are resolute in trying to unseal the bank statements, it will now have to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal directly.