Court rules in favor of DA challenging Tshwane special meeting

The Pretoria High Court has ruled in favor of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in its urgent application challenging the legality of the City of Tshwane’s special council meeting held on 9 July. The court dealt a significant blow to the City of Tshwane’s recent council decisions, ruling that Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana acted unlawfully during a contentious special council meeting on 9 July by excluding the votes of 13 Democratic Alliance (DA) councillors. The judgment was handed down on Friday evening. The court found that the Speaker had no legal authority to determine the voting rights of councillors which cast doubt on the validity of resolutions adopted at the meeting, including the appointment of an acting city manager after the suspension of City Manager Johann Mettler. Councillors voted to suspend City Manager Johann Mettler and reinstate Group Chief Financial Officer Gareth Mnisi. The DA challenged the legality of the meeting, arguing that councillors were not given the required 72 hours’ notice. The party approached the court on an urgent basis, asking the court to declare the meeting and its resolutions unlawful. In its judgment, the court found that the Speaker had no authority to exclude the councillors’ votes and granted urgent relief in favour of the DA. The judge also found that the DA had met the requirements for urgent relief and rejected arguments that the party should have pursued internal council remedies first. The DA, meanwhile, has welcomed the Court’s decision. The judgment means Mettler can resume his duties. DA Tshwane mayoral candidate, Cilliers Brink says, “It is clear that Johann Mettler can return to work and Tshwane is prevented from doing anything to give a fact to what we believe to be the unlawful council resolution that had him suspended.” “This is the important victory on the war of state capture. Johann Mettler stood in the way of looting in Tshwane and the fact that he can now return to work is absolutely a victory for accountable democratic effective government. We have a message for the employees of Tshwane, it makes the right decision even if the consequences a bad.”