PRETORIA, Gauteng — Tshwane City Manager Johann Mettler has been ordered by the Pretoria High Court to return to work immediately, effectively nullifying a precautionary suspension that stemmed from a highly irregular council vote. The court’s decisive ruling found that the disciplinary process was fundamentally flawed, paving the way for the city’s top administrator to resume his duties without delay.
The judicial intervention centers on the events of 9 July, when Council Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana unilaterally subtracted 13 votes during a contentious council sitting. The High Court declared this specific action unlawful, unconstitutional, and irrational. The judgment clarified that had those votes been counted as originally cast, the resolution to suspend Mettler would have failed.
Anton van der Bijl, Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Legal Services at Solidarity, represented Mettler in the urgent application and hailed the judgment as a complete vindication. Van der Bijl emphasized that Mettler had consistently maintained his innocence, arguing that the disciplinary procedure was a sham from the outset. He noted that the initial charge sheet lacked basic particulars, and the council ignored formal requests to provide them, making the entire legal proceeding unnecessary and indefensible.
During the proceedings, the speaker attempted to justify the vote subtraction by claiming the 13 councilors had requested leave at the time. However, the court also determined that the emergency council sitting during which this occurred was convened unlawfully, further dismantling the legitimacy of the suspension.
Because the court granted an interim interdict with immediate effect, Mettler is expected back at his desk without any transitional handover period. During his roughly three-week absence, Dr. Muso Kumala served as the acting city manager. Moving forward, Mettler holds the administrative authority to audit all actions, contracts, and tenders approved during his suspension. Van der Bijl noted that while this current order is interim pending a broader review application of the entire process, Mettler can and should move to overturn any decisions made in the interim if procedural illegality is uncovered.
The suspension has been steeped in political controversy. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has long alleged that Mettler was targeted specifically because he was actively exposing unlawful tender processes within the municipality. While Van der Bijl declined to dive deeply into municipal political infighting, he acknowledged that the rushed nature of the suspension aligns with the DA’s assertions. Notably, Mayor Nasiphi Moya chose not to participate in the court proceedings, a move that observers suggest further isolates the disciplinary action from genuine administrative concern.
The court emphasized that allowing an unlawful three-month suspension to run its course would cause irreparable harm to the capital city’s administration. By reinstating a legally appointed and highly competent manager, the ruling restores a layer of stability and ensures that Tshwane’s governance can proceed on a foundation of procedural fairness rather than political maneuvering.
