PRETORIA, GAUTENG — The Democratic Alliance (DA) has escalated its dispute with the Tshwane council, launching a formal legal challenge in the Gauteng High Court to overturn the controversial suspension of City Manager Johan Mettler and the reinstatement of Chief Financial Officer Gareth Mnisi. DA Tshwane leader Cilliers Brink contends that Council Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana deliberately manipulated a July 9 council sitting by unlawfully excluding 13 opposition votes, engineering an irregular outcome that the party argues severely undermines municipal governance and the rule of law.
According to Brink, the procedural irregularities began before the July 9 meeting even commenced. The council was issued a mere 48 hours’ notice for the sitting, which the DA deemed wholly inadequate, and the agenda was only distributed an hour after the session had already started. Although the council was officially in recess and 13 DA councillors had initially submitted leave requests, nine made themselves available to attend once the meeting’s contentious business became apparent. Additionally, one councillor from the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) returned from leave to participate.
Despite these representatives being physically present and prepared to vote, Brink alleges that Speaker Ndzwanana bypassed a standard roll call. Rather than formally excluding anyone, the speaker arbitrarily deducted 13 votes from the motions opposing Mettler’s precautionary suspension and opposing the downgrading of the allegations against Mnisi. Brink condemned this action as an undemocratic manipulation designed to orchestrate Mettler’s removal while securing a “soft landing” for Mnisi.
The DA firmly rejects the notion that there is a legitimate case against City Manager Johan Mettler. Brink emphasized that the allegations, initiated by a single EFF councillor, are devoid of factual grounding. Instead, the DA’s court submissions suggest that Mettler is being politically targeted by the ruling ANC and EFF coalition because he has consistently refused to authorize tenders that would lead to irregular municipal expenditure. To illustrate this, the DA highlighted a proposed 40-year lease for the Tshwane Showgrounds, a transaction Mettler reportedly flagged as potentially irregular, which subsequently fueled political frustration against him.
The conduct of Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya has also become a focal point of the DA’s criticism. On June 25, the mayor voted to issue Mettler with a notice of intention to suspend, disregarding the DA’s arguments that no evidence was presented to suggest he would interfere with witnesses or jeopardize any investigation. In a surprising turn, an hour before the July 9 meeting, ActionSA representatives reportedly informed the DA that they would not support the suspension. However, when the DA approached the High Court to challenge the allegedly rigged vote, Mayor Moya entered an appearance to defend the council’s actions. Brink noted that her senior counsel merely stated they would abide by the court’s ruling without presenting any substantive arguments, a move the DA criticized as a waste of tens of thousands of rands in ratepayer funds. This contradictory stance, Brink argued, indicates the mayor was initially complicit in the push to suspend Mettler but now finds herself at odds with her ANC and EFF coalition partners.
Regarding Chief Financial Officer Gareth Mnisi, the DA argues that his return to duty is the direct result of a manipulated and expedited disciplinary track. During the same disputed July 9 vote, the council classified the allegations against Mnisi as “less serious.” Had the council correctly classified them as serious, an independent disciplinary panel would have been mandated, where a guilty verdict could have resulted in his dismissal.
Because the vote was allegedly rigged to downgrade the severity of the charges, Mnisi’s case was rushed through an expedited process, culminating in nothing more than a written warning. Brink described this as potentially the fastest disciplinary outcome for a senior municipal manager in Tshwane’s history, suggesting it was deliberately rushed to preempt the High Court from granting an interdict. The DA maintains that the allegations against Mnisi—which include breaches of the senior managers’ code of conduct, violations of supply chain management regulations, and damning testimony referenced at the Madlanga Commission—are inherently serious.
As the Gauteng High Court prepares to review the matter, the DA has vowed to argue vigorously that the downgrading of the charges against Mnisi was unlawful. The party insists that if these serious allegations are proven through a proper, transparent legal process, the appropriate sanction must be dismissal, not a expedited written warning.
