Durban - The ANC has allegedly acted against one of its mayors, Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba of Newcastle, telling him that he should leave office when his 30-day suspension ends.
The party is refusing to say what it has done since placing eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede on suspension on June 10. The two mayors were placed on suspension in order to give the party time to investigate allegations that their cases were politically motivated, among other issues.
Gumede left but vowed that she would be back in office after the 30 days, saying she was innocent while Mahlaba reportedly quietly took his leave, but still refused to meet with the party’s provincial working committee and provincial executive committee.
Gumede is facing fraud and corruption charges emanating from a 2017 waste tender worth R208 million, while Mahlaba faces murder charges emanating from the 2016 fatal shooting of Wandile Ngobeni, an ANC eMalahleni regional youth league leader.
Three sources close to Gumede claimed that the ANC has not reverted to her since she was suspended.
“Nothing has been done since then and we have no idea what is happening and what is the plan. We will just wait and see what they do next,” the branch secretary said.
Another source said the suspension was a way for the party to ease pressure and he believed that they already know what they will do at the end of the 30 days but wanted to first test the water.
Gumede refused to comment on the matter when called by Independent Media yesterday.
When asked how far the party had progressed in investigating the Gumede matter, ANC KZN spokesperson Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu was non-committal.