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The Moslem Cemetery Board has asked the High Court to postpone its October AGM, citing audits, governance work and membership issues. The application comes two months after a court-supervised election reset the board’s governance.
By ANWAR OMAR
The Moslem Cemetery Board (MCB) has asked the High Court to approve postponing its Annual General Meeting, which Clause 17 of the 1948 Constitution requires in October, to a date of its choosing no later than May 30, 2027.
The urgent application, filed on Friday, October 23 (Case No 2025-238197), cites Dr Tolgah Bassier, whose application started the case, and the Independent Panel as respondents. It will be heard at 10am on Thursday, October 29. Opposing papers are due by Tuesday, October 27.
Muslim Views has asked the Board since September 23 whether the AGM would be held. The Board said the matter was under deliberation and that it would communicate the outcome afterwards. The court papers show those deliberations ended on October 21. The Board has not responded to Muslim Views’ latest request, sent the day after that decision.
The deadline will be missed either way
The court is being asked to condone a deferment, but the calendar has settled that the October deadline will pass. Clause 18 requires notice at least seven days before an AGM, so the last day for notice of a October 31 meeting was October 24 at the latest. The Board’s own affidavit says it “is not presently in a position to comply” with the Constitution.
Even if the court refused the application at the October 29 hearing and ordered an AGM, notice published that day could not satisfy Clause 18 before November 5.
So the question is not whether October will be missed, but how far past the Board will be allowed to go. It requests a date of its choosing up to May 30, 2027, about seven months late, with no interim date. The court may grant less. It will be for the court to decide whether to grant the full period or something shorter.
What the Board is asking for
In a founding affidavit sworn by Chairperson Faizal Sayed, the Board asks the court to declare “lawful, valid and binding” its October 21 majority resolution that an October AGM “would be premature”. It also seeks authority to defer the meeting to a date of its own choosing, no later than May 30, 2027, over nine months after its August 23 election.
The Board says it took office only in early September and “has not yet had sufficient opportunity to properly prepare for an AGM”. It is still “addressing the consequences of the litigation, regularising governance structures, reviewing the Applicant’s financial records and affairs”. A premature AGM could require members to approve “financial statements that are incomplete or remain contentious”. It “does not seek to avoid holding an AGM”, calls the relief “temporary and limited”, and is “fully committed to convening an AGM within a reasonable period”.
What the draft minutes reflect
The most specific reasons for requesting the deferment are in the draft minutes of the October 21 meeting, annexed to the affidavit.
The minutes record that all eleven members attended and the vote was eight to three. Dr Aadil Bassier, Dr Majedi Bassier and Faizel Bassier voted to proceed with the AGM on October 31. The other eight voted to defer “subject to the court direction”. The split mirrors the Board’s factional composition as previously reported by Muslim Views.
The Treasurer reported that audited statements for 2020 to 2024 are available, but those for 2025 and 2026 “remained outstanding”. The current auditors were unlikely to continue, citing their reputation “following public slander”, so a new auditor must be appointed. He said he had “not found any fraud or theft at this stage that warrants an independent forensic audit”, though the Board discussed appointing an independent auditor to examine the outstanding year.
The minutes list seven outstanding requirements:
- the 2025 and 2026 financial statements,
- a new auditor;
- the Chairperson’s report;
- a confirmed membership register;
- clarification of the applicable Constitution;
- drafting a new Constitution; and
- compliance with notice and communication procedures.
According to the Board, holding an AGM without these “would be futile”.
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The 1948 Constitution has no amendment clause, but as a general rule, members – and not the Board – amend an association’s constitution at an AGM.
What the Board concedes
The affidavit concedes that “the Constitution does not provide for such postponement under the prevailing circumstances”. That matches the interpretation of Muslim Views as presented last month: Clause 17 allows no exception for a newly elected board.
The Board’s answer is that the court should authorise a departure. Its resolution is “subject to … any requisite judicial authorisation”, yet the notice of motion asks the court to declare it “lawful, valid and binding”.
Questions the court documents leave unanswered
The application is to be served on Dr Bassier’s attorneys and the Panel. The Board says it will inform members of the court’s order within seven days, through social media, Radio 786 and Voice of the Cape. Muslim Views can confirm members were not informed before filing, although the notice invites any “interested party” to oppose by October 27.
The minutes list drafting a new Constitution as outstanding, but not who is drafting it, what would change, or whether members will vote on it. It also lists “clarification of the applicable Constitution”, although the affidavit treats the 1948 Constitution as the governing document.
The affidavit says the register must be verified “prior to the elections”, without indicating which elections. If it means the Clause 8 rotation, no seats fall vacant until the first anniversary of the August election.
No interim date is proposed before May 30, 2027. The Board must report to the Registrar by November 20, so the court will see it again within weeks whatever it decides on October 29.
The Board’s silence
On September 23 Mr Sayed told Muslim Views the matters were “subject to consideration and decision-making by the Board”, and the outcome would be communicated once deliberations concluded. The resolution was certified on October 22 and the affidavit sworn on October 23. The Board has given Muslim Views no account of its decision or application.
The Board owes this newspaper nothing in law. But a newspaper with deep community roots that followed this matter through the courts and the election asked one simple question: will there be an AGM? It was told an answer would follow once the Board had decided. The Board has decided, but the answer went to the court instead.
Why it matters
The previous board was found unlawfully constituted after fifteen years without an AGM. The court-supervised election was meant to end that, and the first AGM was the first chance to show it had. The Board argues the delay is brief, necessary and sanctioned by a court. Three of its eleven members wanted the meeting held on October 31. On October 29 the court will decide whether to allow the delay, and for how long.
What the Constitution allows
Clause 22 obliges the Board to convene a Special General Meeting (SGM) within 30 days of the Secretary receiving a written request signed by at least 20 voting members, stating the reasons. A request received on October 27, for example, would fall due by November 26.
Signatories must be on the membership roll, and the request should be delivered to the Secretary in writing, with proof of receipt. The reasons could include a report on the financial statements, the auditor, the proposed new Constitution and the litigation, and a date for the AGM.
The Constitution does not say what happens if the Board ignores a valid request, or whether an SGM can stand in for the AGM.
Muslim Views has asked the Board repeatedly for comment. If we do receive a response, it will published in full.
