Pretoria - The much-anticipated case the ANC in Tshwane had brought against Speaker Katlego Mathebe and council chief whip Christo Van Den Heever at the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria will not be heard today.
This came after the ANC withdrew its urgent court application filed this week, seeking to obtain a court order to propel the City of Tshwane to initiate a disciplinary hearing against Mathebe for her alleged misconduct during council meetings.
The party faulted Mathebe for blocking motions of no confidence previously tabled against her.
It fingered Van den Heever for being complicit in the alleged wrongdoing by also derailing council proceedings.
In court papers, the party indicated that the call was in line with a directive by the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Lebogang Maile.
Maile suspended Mathebe last month after he called into question the manner in which she ran council meeting on January 16. He subsequently backed down on his decision amid a legal challenge by the DA.
Regional ANC secretary Bonzo Modise confirmed that the party withdrew its court bid.
He said the decision was taken after it was realised the party didn't append some supporting documents to court papers.
"The case has been withdrawn because there were documents that were missing. We are going to meet early next week to consult. We don't want to look clumsy; we want to be factual," Modise said.
He said the party intended to resubmit court papers after it had gathered more information it required for the case.
Part of the ANC's legal bid was to nullify the appointment of the acting Speaker Zweli Khumalo because it was "unconstitutional".
Khumalo's appointment was effected on January 26 2017 based on a council resolution.
He was installed into the position to preside over council meetings in the event Mathebe was unavailable.
DA deputy chief whip in Tshwane, Mpho Mehlape-Zimu, said the ANC withdrew its case because it knew it was going to be thrown out of court.
She said: "It is the second such withdrawal. Recently, the Maile withdrew after being advised his case was very weak."
Mehlape-Zimu said the DA was confident that the ANC would struggle to prove urgency of its case.
She said the matters they wanted to bring before court were "bad in law and are already the subject of the review application pending in the High Court. Their case also contained allegations that were devoid of fact".
Mehlape-Zimu said: "The DA is confident that rulings made by the Speaker are lawful and can stand in any court of law.
"The ANC should rather focus on fixing their own house and allow the DA to focus on the business of council and approving much-needed by-laws and other service delivery programmes to the benefit of the City and its residents."