Disciplinary hearing against two ANC uMngeni Municipality councillors begins

Two ANC councillors in uMngeni Municipality, charged with instigating the Mpophomeni violent protests in July, appeared before a disciplinary hearing on Thursday.

The protests resulted in the municipality losing hundreds of thousands of rands.

There were also disruptions to service delivery. The municipality had to hire extra security to safeguard municipal buildings after there were threats that they would be attacked.

The protests were as a result of a transformer that exploded in Mpophomeni’s Korea section, leaving over 100 households without electricity.

The municipality then wanted to conduct a meter audit before fixing the transformer, which led to more protests.

Less than 50% of households are paying rates to eThekwini Municipality
The Witness understands there was a video and pictures taken during these protests identifying the two ANC councillors as the leaders of the protest.

The video allegedly shows the two councillors participating in the protest.

Another video that The Witness has seen 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 influence.

The municipality’s speaker, Janis Holmes, said the disciplinary processes were ongoing and the municipality could not comment until they were finalised.

A source said the actions of the two councillors were serious and this was backed up by evidence in the municipality’s possession.

The new administration is doing all they can and they are really closing in on them.
They are also investigating things that happened at the municipality and it’s still going to be tough.
The secretary for the ANC in the Moses Mabhida Region, Simininkosi Ndlovu, said they do not think the two councillors did anything wrong.

The DA is just being dramatic if they think they can charge our councillors for caring for our people. If they want to get rid of our councillors they will see the might of the ANC.