Court declares election of Kannaland mayor and deputy ‘unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void’

The Cape High Court has declared the election of Nickolaas Valentyn and Leonie Stuurman as Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Kannaland Municipality as “unlawful, unconstitutional and null and void”.

The court handed down judgment on Wednesday.

It ruled both Valentyn and Stuurman acted without a mandate from the African National Congress (ANC).

Valentyn and Stuurman were sworn into the leadership positions in January after the mayor of Kannaland Local Municipality convicted rapist Jeffrey Donson and his deputy, fraudster Werner Meshoa, were booted out of office after a motion of no confidence in them succeeded in council.

Their election caused an uproar as South Africans questioned government’s commitment to dealing with criminal leaders.

In the court ruling posted by the SABC, the court said the Interim Provincial Committee Coordinator (IPCC) of the ANC had written to the Municipal Manager of the Municipality and informed him that the ANC councillors had no mandate to call for a council meeting and that ANC councillors were to go into the opposition as per the mandate from national.

Valentyn and Stuurman ignored and defied this instruction.

“Well aware that the position of the ANC communicated to them was that they may not represent the ANC in any capacity pending disciplinary procedures, they continued to purport to act as Councillors elected from a party list of the ANC, and arising therefrom, as well as Mayor and Deputy Mayor.”

The court also found that Municipal Manager Ian Avontuur had no understanding of Constitutional democracy.

“He is a democratic mess. He seems to believe that a Municipal Manager was a power broker in an ANC with two centers contesting for authority and power.”

The court said Avontuur did not find anything wrong with usurping the functions of the leadership of the ANC and personally reviewed the decision and status of Councillors expelled by the ANC.

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