UDM councillor taken to task for behaviour in Trollip debate

Rowdy Nelson Mandela Bay Metro United Democratic Movement (UDM) councillor Mongameli Bobani was humbled yesterday when his party threatened him with disciplinary action and recall if he continued to misbehave in council meetings.

During the second no-confidence motion in mayor Athol Trollip, Bobani had toned down his usually rowdy behaviour.

He sat motionless and silent most of the time, while watching Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) councillors acting in a disruptive manner.

The debate finally collapsed for the second time when opposition parties demanded that speaker Jonathan Lawack acknowledge their points of order.

Lawack refused to entertain them, instead stopping the meeting, with all councillors from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and its allies walking out to address the media.

Although the UDM is at loggerheads with the DA in Nelson Mandela Bay, it still forced Bobani to account for his ill-discipline, and told him to respect the council meeting decorum.

In a strongly worded letter to Bobani, party secretary-general Bongani Msomi said the UDM national office management committee (NOMC) was unhappy with his behaviour, and that he must restrain himself.

Msomi said the party objected to his disruptive behaviour during the chaotic council sitting to debate the motion of no confidence in Trollip on March 29.

In the letter to Bobani, the UDM asked him to change his ways in meetings or face disciplinary measures including a recall from the council.

“This is the last opportunity you will be given to change your behaviour and modus operandi, failing which the UDM will automatically recall you and institute disciplinary measures,” Msomi said.

Bobani, along with the six EFF councillors, had raised several points of order, and demanded that Lawack step down for being biased.

The UDM also criticised Bobani for allegedly assaulting Cope MP and secretary-general Deidre Carter at the meeting and demanded he apologise to her, which he subsequently did, both publicly and personally.

The EFF said the DA had realised that it would lose, as some of its councillors were going to vote with the opposition in the motion, while the UDM’s Bobani said the opposition was not responsible for the collapse of the meeting.