ANC in QwaQwa allegedly organised “township thugs” armed with knives to disrupt mayor’s removal

The ANC in Maluti-a-Phofung allegedly brought “thugs” to a council meeting on Thursday to disrupt proceedings intended to discuss a motion of no confidence against mayor Malekula Melato.

ANC councillors, including the speaker, walked out of the meeting in an apparent attempt to break quorum and prevent the council from voting on the motion.

This occurred while party president Cyril Ramaphosa was in the province meeting the ANC Free State provincial executive committee to address challenges facing struggling municipalities.

A councillor in the municipality said the ANC had organised individuals from the township to disrupt the council sitting and prevent the mayor’s removal.

“That individual walked in with some ANC councillors,” the councillor told the Mail & Guardian. “Although they walked out, they did not leave the premises — they remained outside. When they returned, about six or seven councillors came back with them and one was carrying an Okapi knife.”

On Wednesday, mayor Malekula Melato filed an urgent application in the Bloemfontein High Court challenging the legitimacy of the motion.

The M&G understands that the case was scheduled to be heard at midday on Thursday but the outcome had not been received at the time of publication.

In a letter to the speaker, seen by the M&G, Melato questioned the procedure and raised concerns that she had not been provided with documentation supporting the allegations contained in the motion.

She described the motion as a political ploy aimed at disrupting the functioning of the municipality in the final months of the current political term.

“Lastly, given that this motion is riddled with not only legislative flaws but also procedural anomalies, I submit that it should not be carried and should instead be deemed to have lapsed,” she wrote.

Police were called to the council on Thursday to prevent disruptions to the proceedings.

“There are 70 councillors,” said the source. “When the ANC walked out, 36 remained, meaning we still had a quorum. By law, we were allowed to elect an acting speaker from among ourselves because the speaker had left with the ANC councillors.

“We elected an acting speaker and the meeting continued. The majority supported the motion to remove the mayor and thereafter a new mayor was elected.”

Councillor Paratlane Motloung of the MAP16 Civic Movement was elected as the new mayor.

The councillor alleged that after the ANC walkout, individuals were brought in to disrupt the council by throwing tables and chairs. 

“The police had to be called. When they arrived, we were able to reconvene and continue because disruptions began immediately after the vote to remove the mayor.”

The source added that just before the vote to elect a new mayor, six councillors returned with individuals who entered the chamber and disrupted proceedings by throwing furniture.

The source said council business resumed after the police arrived and the process of electing a new mayor was completed.

“For the ANC to do that —  and for the speaker to walk out — if it had only been ordinary councillors, it might have been understandable but even the speaker?”

Another source told the M&G that they saw two individuals carrying knives entering the council chambers in an attempt to disrupt the meeting. “We are just happy that the councillors exercised extreme patience to make sure that we removed the mayor.”