The fierce battle between the DA and the ANC over control of the Tshwane Metro Council in Pretoria gained momentum on Monday as the DA filed a charge of fraud against the leadership of the ANC caucus at the Brooklyn police station.
The DA accuses the ANC of forging the signatures of councilors to persuade the speaker to convene a special council meeting.
The ANC hopes to file motions of mistrust at such a meeting against DA Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa and Speaker Rachel Mathebe.
The fight for Mokgalapa, who is on special leave after a survey revealed he allegedly had sex with a colleague, and got rid of Mathebe began the day after the ANC took control of the Johannesburg subway with the assistance from the EFF.
Mathebe turned down requests for a special council meeting last week.
They (the DA) say the ANC has forged its own signatures. It’s not logical, after all. Why would we falsify our own signatures?
The ANC succeeded in successfully implementing the motions in December, with the help of the EFF, but the Pretoria High Court later set it aside for the time being after the DA argued that the ANC and the EFF’s course of action was illegal. This case is yet to be heard.
The two parties, who together also hold the majority vote in the Tshwane council, are expected to again submit motions of mistrust against the mayor and the speaker at this month’s first council meeting of the year.
Mpho Mehlape-Zimu, deputy chief whip of the DA in the metro area, has filed the fraud complaint with the police on behalf of the DA.
The DA says in a statement that after an investigation it was determined at least seven of the signatures were forged.
The DA says it is important that the matter is fully investigated because the alleged forgery of signatures poses a threat to the city as well as the country.
The party says it will not allow police to ignore the case and will closely monitor the progress of the case.
The rule of law must be protected, Mehlape-Zimu said, according to the DA’s statement.
Police confirmed a complaint was made.
Dr. Kgosi Maepa, chair of the ANC in the Tshwane metro council, has accused the DA of seeking only publicity.
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