Sheikh takes MJC court
The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) is being taken to court by its president Sheikh Irafaan Abrahams to prevent the religious authority from holding an early AGM to elect a new executive committee (Exco).
In a Western Cape High Court application lodged by Abrahams, he is seeking to restrain the MJC from proceeding with its presidential elections.
This follows allegations of financial mismanagement to the tune of nearly R1 million at the MJC last year.
It’s Abrahams’ second term in office, with the current five-year term ending on May 28, 2026.
In his founding affidavit, Abrahams said the MJC “is attempting to circumvent and essentially breach its constitutional and contractual obligations to me by forcing unconstitutional, early elections on Saturday, September 23”.
During the AGM last year April, an internal commission of inquiry (COI) was instituted by the General Majlis, one of four primary organs of the MJC, to investigate financial irregularities within the organisation. As president, Abrahams is a member of the executive council.
The COI report, dated June 11, 2022, was to investigate 38 transactions amounting to R928 504 specified as “assistance” in the 2020/21 financial statements.
While the COI’s investigation found no prima facie evidence of theft or personal enrichment, the “COI found gross financial management and control failures, including: unauthorised expenditure, gross negligence in financial record keeping, the manufacture of misrepresented receipts, [and] an unnecessarily high number of cash withdrawals” among others.
Abrahams stated in his application that despite no allegations levelled against him, the MJC has suggested that he was the “figurehead and the operations behind the alleged financial irregularities”.
“I unequivocally deny that I was behind any sort of decision-making that had apparently resulted in financial irregularities in the books of the respondent,” he said.
The MJC said that it would be opposing the matter. Due to the matter being sub judice, it was not willing to discuss further details the contents thereof at this stage, the MJC added.
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