The Democratic Alliance (DA) has won its urgent High Court application challenging the City of Tshwane council’s decision to suspend city manager Johann Mettler, with the Pretoria High Court ruling that the special council vote was unlawful and ordering his immediate return to office.
Judge AJ Pillay on Friday set aside the council resolutions adopted during the 9 July special council sitting after finding that Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana acted outside his powers by excluding 13 votes cast by DA and Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) councillors.
The ruling effectively restores Mettler as Tshwane’s city manager pending the final determination of the review proceedings.
In his judgment, Pillay described voting as a “cornerstone” of municipal democracy, finding that restricting a councillor’s right to vote could only occur under narrowly defined circumstances.
“The Speaker did not have the authority to determine a councillor’s eligibility to vote or to subtract the votes that were indeed cast in the execution of those affected councillors’ mandates and duties,” the judgment reads.
The court found the Speaker’s decision to disregard the disputed votes was prima facie unlawful.
Pillay also rejected arguments that the DA should have pursued internal council remedies before approaching the court, finding that the Speaker’s actions did not constitute a ruling capable of appeal under council by-laws.
“What the Speaker did cannot be classified as a ruling,” the judge held, concluding that there was “no alternative remedy” available to the DA.
The court further found the matter sufficiently urgent, warning that allowing the acting city manager to continue exercising powers while the legality of her appointment remained in question could expose the municipality to significant legal uncertainty.
Pillay noted that the acting appointment flowed from an unlawful decision and was therefore “the fruit of a poisonous tree”, creating “endless adverse possibilities”.
He consequently ordered that the resolution suspending Mettler be suspended with immediate effect, declaring that Mettler “is entitled to resume and continue in the office of City Manager” while restraining the respondents from maintaining another person in an acting capacity.
The judgment follows the DA’s urgent application launched shortly after the controversial council meeting, where Mettler was placed on precautionary suspension with full pay pending an independent investigation.
Africa Daily previously reported that the DA argued the council’s recorded votes showed that the motion to suspend Mettler had in fact failed before the Speaker deducted 13 votes cast by DA and FF Plus councillors who had initially been recorded as being on leave.
The party maintained that 92 councillors voted in favour of suspending Mettler while 95 voted against, but that the Speaker subsequently altered the outcome by discounting the disputed votes.
Welcoming the judgment, DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink described it as a victory for the rule of law, good governance and Tshwane residents.
“The Court has restored the lawful administration of the City by ordering Johann Mettler’s return to work as City Manager,” Brink said.
He accused what he termed the “ANC-EFF-ActionSA coalition” of unlawfully manipulating council processes to suspend Mettler while protecting politically connected officials.
“The Coalition of Corruption’s decision to suspend a competent official while giving only a slap on the wrist to an official implicated at the Madlanga Commission exposed its true priorities: protecting political allies and entrenched interests while sidelining officials who stand for accountability and clean governance,” Brink said.
He argued that the suspension formed part of an attempt to install an acting city manager at the beginning of the municipal financial year in order to gain control over the city’s budget and procurement processes.
“The Court’s decision has confirmed that there are consequences when the law is ignored,” he said.
Brink also said the judgment demonstrated the importance of opposition parties using the courts to challenge unlawful decisions.
ActionSA, however, rejected the DA’s attempts to portray the ruling as a political victory, while nevertheless welcoming the court’s decision restoring Mettler to office.
The party’s national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the judgment related to the Speaker’s conduct rather than Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, who had complied with her statutory obligation by tabling allegations of misconduct against the city manager.
Beaumont also emphasised that ActionSA had voted against suspending Mettler and had itself tabled the recommendation that he remain in office.
According to Beaumont, the suspension should never have been approved had it not been for the Speaker’s subsequent decision to discount the votes of councillors who had initially been granted leave before arriving to participate in the meeting.
“The Court has merely corrected the consequences of the Speaker’s ruling in relation to councillors who chose to absent themselves from the work they are elected and paid to perform,” Beaumont said.
He argued that while ActionSA welcomed the judgment, the litigation had become necessary only because of circumstances created by the DA and FF Plus councillors’ absence at the start of the meeting.
“ActionSA is pleased that the work of turning around the City of Tshwane will continue with Mr Johann Mettler at the helm of the administration,” Beaumont said.