Two umngeni councillors face loss of salary for illegal protest support

Two ANC councillors in umngeni Municipality have been found guilty and sanctioned for instigating an illegal protest.

The two councillors, who are known to Capital Newspapers, but cannot be named as the matter has not yet been fully finalised, have been undergoing disciplinary hearings since last year following the Mpophomeni electricity protest that took place in July 2022.

The protest lasted just over a week, resulting in the municipality losing millions in revenue, among other losses.

The protest ensued after a transformer exploded in Ward 11, leaving over 100 households without electricity.

The municipality wanted to conduct a meter audit prior to fixing the transformer, which resulted in more disruptions as residents were said to be against the audit.

The municipality also had to increase its security after threats of sabotage to the infrastructure were made during the protest.

A reliable source said that council took the decision to charge these councillors after they were found guilty.

The ANC, however, voted against the charge, while the EFF abstained from voting.

The source said one of the councillors has forfeited four month’s salary and the other, three months, as punishment.

“The decision was made at the last council meeting in January. The speaker is expected to formally inform the councillors. They also have 14 days upon receiving the letters to appeal the decision,” the source said.

According to the source, council had to take a decision after the matter dragged on for a while. At some stage the councillors also did not pitch up for the hearing.

Council speaker, Janis Holmes, confirmed the matter was finalised at council but could not comment further.

She said they were still waiting for comments from the MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs before the municipality can officially comment on the matter.

“I can’t talk about the matter because I don’t want to compromise any appeal that may happen. We will wait and then go from there,” said Holmes.

Capital Newspapers understands there were videos and pictures that circulated on social media showing the two councillors participating in the protest.

Another video shows a group of people being given food from a bakkie in Merrivale. In the video, a vehicle belonging to one of the two ANC councillors can be seen.

During the protests, umngeni mayor Chris Pappas said the disruptions caused were politically organised. However, some of the protesters denied political interference.

It is alleged the councillors also transported the protesters to Howick where they continued the protest and broke the main gate to the municipal offices.

ANC caucus leader in umngeni, Thulani Mthalane, said the two councillors have shown interest in appealing the matter and would not comment further.