The Constitutional Court rules in the ANC’s favour, and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula becomes visibly emotional—breaking down in tears and collapsing—during a briefing after the decision. He is taken for medical attention following the incident.
Across reports, the ruling concerns the November 4 local government elections and directs the Electoral Commission of South Africa to include 181 ANC candidates on the ballot. One outlet adds that Mbalula describes the personal strain of the legal battle, saying he had lost sleep over the risk that some candidates might not be able to contest.
Different coverage focuses either on the drama of his collapse or on the election and legal implications of the court order, but they converge on the same sequence: the court decision, the instruction to include the 181 candidates, and Mbalula’s emotional response and medical treatment afterwards.
