The South African Football Association (SAFA) has confirmed its intention to recover all legal costsincurred over a four-year period from former presidential candidates Ria Ledwaba and Solly Mohlabeng. The decision follows a conclusive ruling by the Constitutional Court of South Africa, which marked the definitive end to the duo’s extensive litigation campaign.
The legal battle stems from the June 2022 SAFA Elective Congress held at the Sandton Convention Centre, where incumbent Dr Danny Jordaan secured a majority vote to retain the presidency ahead of Ledwaba and Mohlabeng. Refusing to accept the outcome, the defeated candidates initiated multiple legal challenges to overturn the election results and contest their subsequent loss of structural standing within the football association.
Over the last four years, the matter escalated through various tiers of the South African judicial system, moving from the Pretoria High Court to the Supreme Court of Appeal, and finally terminating at the highest court in the country.
At every turn, the courts rejected the applicants’ bids. The Constitutional Court officially brought finality to the multi-year dispute by dismissing Ledwaba and Mohlabeng’s application for leave to appeal. The apex court ruled that the application failed to engage its jurisdiction and held no reasonable prospect of success, subsequently refusing both the leave to appeal and the leave to file a replying affidavit, with costs.
The Constitutional Court judgment represents the seventh consecutive courtroom failure for Ledwaba and Mohlabeng since their initial challenges began. Prior to the apex court’s ruling, the Supreme Court of Appeal had also dismissed a special application under the Superior Courts Act in early 2026, wherein the pair sought a reconsideration of a previous dismissal. Additionally, previous rulings by the Pretoria High Court had noted that the applicants lacked the required legal standing to contest internal disputes after losing their official membership roles within SAFA structures.
With the litigation pathways fully exhausted, SAFA announced that it will serve its first formal financial claim to Ledwaba and Mohlabeng in the coming days to initiate the cost-recovery process. The association noted that while the protracted legal maneuvers required significant attention, they did not disrupt day-to-day operations.
Throughout the four-year dispute, national teams including Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana, alongside the association’s youth programs, referee academies, and coaching departments, maintained their scheduled mandates without operational interruption.