Tshwane metro, mayor and rival parties collide over Mettler’s suspension
· Citizen
The suspension of Tshwane city manager Johann Mettler has sparked a fierce legal and political showdown, with the metro, its mayor and rival parties locked in conflicting bids before the High Court in Pretoria.
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What began as a disputed council vote has escalated into urgent applications, counter‑affidavits and accusations of a politically motivated witch‑hunt – leaving experts divided on whether the city is defending integrity or undermining due process.
Disputed council vote escalated
At the heart of the dispute is whether Mettler’s suspension was procedurally sound or politically engineered.
The DA and Solidarity argue the council vote was mishandled and amounted to a “witch‑hunt”, while the city insists reinstating him now would compromise investigations and destabilise municipal operations.
Earlier this week, the city and mayor Nasiphi Moya asked the court to reject Mettler’s urgent application to have his suspension set aside.
Moya initially voted against the suspension. Now she is on record opposing the application to set aside the suspension.
In a responding affidavit, the acting city manager, Musa Khumalo, argued immediate reinstatement of Mettler could disrupt the municipality.
Khumalo also said the affidavit does not seek to defend the conduct or resolutions of the council meeting, justify the speaker’s ruling, prove the correctness of the vote count or pre-empt the evidence.
Solidarity call vote ‘witch-hunt’
Solidarity’s deputy chief executive Anton van der Bijl said the organisation has no alternative but to challenge the injustice being committed by Tshwane against Mettler, who is its member.
Van der Bijl said the process was fundamentally flawed and bears all the hallmarks of a politically motivated witch-hunt.
“Solidarity will not stand by while someone who has defended the integrity of the city is bullied through a political witch-hunt,” he said.
“We believe the metro’s actions are unlawful, irrational and unconstitutional.”
Van der Bijl said Solidarity repeatedly requested to be properly involved in the process and to be provided with the necessary information, but those requests were ignored.
Republican Conference of Tshwane councillor Lex Middelberg said Mettler will win and the DA’s application will also succeed.
Republican Conference councillor says Mettler will win
“The concerted push to get rid of Mettler and reinstate Tshwane COO Gareth Mnisi is inappropriate,” said Middelberg.
“There’s a strong case against both, but the coalition handled Mettler’s matter poorly and failed to make a case for suspending him pending the investigation.”
Political analyst Benjamin Rapanyane said the city was fighting back so hard because it is the mayor’s statutory obligation to act on the allegations.
“If this is not acted upon, then his presence in the office would compromise the integrity of the independent investigation, risk potential interference and tampering with witnesses,” said Rapanyane.
Another political analyst, Rene Oosthuizen, said the move by the city risks creating the perception that it is more focused on defending its political decisions than ensuring a fair process.
“If there is nothing to hide, scrutiny should not be seen as a threat but rather an opportunity to prove that the process was legitimate and fair,” she added.