KSD ANC councillor in bitter fight to keep his job

Mabaso takes on municipality and Cogta MEC in high court over his axing

Refusing to take his sacking lying down, a King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality councillor is taking on his employer and the provincial government in a David versus Goliath court case that will play out at the Mthatha high court on Tuesday.

Already, ward 4 councillor Mbongeni Mabaso has won the first round, convincing the high court on Friday to interdict the municipality from forging ahead with the council meeting meant to resolve on approving co-operative governance & traditional affairs MEC Xolile Nqatha’s decision to fire him.

Nqatha announced he had fired Mabaso over allegations he had sold an RDP house to a resident.

Mabaso has not been found guilty of the alleged crime in a court of law, but Nqatha said there were bank slips proving R25,000 had been paid into Mabaso’s account by the desperate homeseeker.

Nqatha claimed Mabaso failed to respond to him on the allegations, resulting in his office finding the councillor guilty. But the councillor has denied he did not respond, saying he did so via e-mail on July 29.

Nqatha said he fired the ANC councillor, which KSD should have done and had not because it was divided along factional lines and Mabaso was aligned to the dominant grouping.

However, on Monday, Mabaso effectively said while Nqatha had pointed a finger at him, three were pointing back at himself.

“Not only did I first see it on Facebook that I was being removed, but I am yet to receive a formal letter informing me of such a move. This process has been flawed from the beginning. It’s like they were chasing something because a certain faction in council wants me removed.

“It seems like the MEC is also playing in that factional ground in a bid to deal with me,” he said.

Mabaso said he would not recognise his perceived removal without correspondence from Nqatha informing him of it.

He denies all the allegations against him.

Mabaso, Nqatha and KSD will lock horns at the Mthatha high court on Tuesday. He wants the court to review and set aside his sacking.

On Friday, judge Buyiswa Majiki granted Mabaso an interim order preventing the municipality from effecting Nqatha’s decision until the matter was heard on an urgent basis on Tuesday.

Municipal spokesperson Sonwabo Mampoza on Monday said: “Council noted the report from the MEC about the alleged misconduct. However, we were interdicted from taking action and apply the recommendation by the legal representatives of councillor Mabaso. We are planning to get legal advice as to how we should go about this.”

Nqatha told the Dispatch on Monday that he was bracing for Tuesday’s court case, saying court papers had already been prepared through the state attorney’s office.

“This was in the best interest of justice and the best interest of that community. This is because he is all but unfit to claim to be a public representative in the face of all these allegations,” he said.

● A Buffalo City Metro council meeting scheduled to sit on Tuesday has been postponed, with a new date still to be announced. The meeting was meant to discuss city manager Andile Sihlahla’s proposed suspension over the metro’s poor audit outcomes and a damning Mpac report about his administration.

The postponement was confirmed on Monday by council speaker Humphrey Maxhegwana, who said the meeting had to be shelved as legal opinion from Nqatha’s office was only received late on Friday.

It was too late to send out invitations to councillors, he said.

The legal opinion relates to processes followed in disciplining Sihlahla, and the responses he had presented to council on why he should not be suspended. Sihlahla previously demanded an apology from council and described the process to discipline him as flawed and illegal.