UPDATE: Tshwane Mayor Makwarela resigns amid fake rehabilitation certificate drama

Just a day after reclaiming his mayoral position, and just over a week after becoming mayor, Tshwane’s Murunwa Makwarela has resigned as mayor.

This comes after the the Chief Registrar of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division Pretoria confirmed in a statement that the document submitted by Makwarela on Tuesday, which essentially allowed him to occupy the capital city’s mayor’s office, was most likely fake.

In a statement from Makwarela’s party Cope, they confirm that he had submitted his resignation on Friday afternoon, which they have accepted.

See the fill statement here:

Makwarela had on Thursday submitted a certificate allegedly proving his successful rehabilitation, after he had been declared insolvent in 2016.

On Friday morning, the High Court threw a spanner into the works.

Letter is a fake

The registrar’s statement reads: “I, Tumelo Refilwe Ledwaba, the Chief Registrar of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division Pretoria hereby confirm that the document purporting to be an order issued by this court was never issued in our court”.

Ledwaba also confirmed that no rehabilitation order has ever been issued regarding the parties named in the said document Makwarela submitted.

“I am referring this matter to the office of the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations for their [investigations] and the institution of criminal proceedings.”

The nature of the criminal charges Makwarela may face remain unknown at this stage.

The ‘mayor’, however, refused to be deterred, saying he will remain focused on his work, serving Tshwane residents. “I will not be distracted by the noise and unfounded allegations,” he said in a now deleted tweet.

Multi-party coalition in Tshwane to press charges

The representatives of the multi-party coalition in Tshwane said they will be laying criminal charges against Makwarela at the SAPS Brooklyn Police Station on Friday afternoon.

“Residents have been dismayed and left in disbelief by the shameless and dishonest politicking that has
seen the governance of the City destabilised and the ability of residents to receive service delivery
disrupted.

“Dr Makwarela’s integrity and questionable legitimacy as a duly elected City councillor have
been at the nexus of these unfortunate events,” the coalition said.

Meanwhile, the Tshwane mayors office has since notified the public that Makwarela is “attending to a
personal matter of bereavement, having lost two close family members, and will, therefore, not be taking any media inquiries.”

Cope response

Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem had initially told The Citizen the party will engage with Makwarela to get the facts.

“We are going to meet with Mr Makwarela this morning to find out and hear from him about all these reports that are doing the rounds in media and social media and so on, and after that we will have a comprehensive answer,” Bloem said.

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel

NOW READ: Authenticity of Tshwane Mayor Makwarela’s clearance certificate to be investigated