The High Court in Pretoria has granted interim relief, ordering Tshwane’s city manager, Johann Mettler, to return to work after finding the process that led to his suspension was prima facie unlawful.

According to Pretoria Rekord, the judgement, delivered by Judge AJ Pillay yesterday (July 31), relates to Mettler’s suspension following two council resolutions adopted on July 9.

The DA and Solidarity challenged the suspension, arguing that the speaker unlawfully deducted 13 votes from the total votes cast.

They said this changed the outcome of the council decision and ultimately resulted in Mettler being suspended.

The speaker argued that he had the discretion to exclude the votes of councillors who had been granted leave of absence, even though they attended the meeting and voted.

The court rejected this argument, finding that the speaker did not have authority to subtract those votes. It held that councillors who were present, whether physically or virtually, were constitutionally entitled to vote.

Pillay therefore found the speaker’s conduct to be prima facie unlawful.

The court ordered that Mettler’s suspension be set aside, allowing him to resume his duties as city manager. The respondents were also interdicted from implementing the suspension or appointing an acting city manager.

The court ruled the matter was urgent because of the risk of unlawful decisions being taken by an acting city manager while the legality of Mettler’s suspension remained in dispute.

The issues of costs and final relief were postponed for later determination.

Mettler expressed relief over the ruling, stating that sitting at home was difficult because he believed he belonged at work.

“These past three weeks were an experience that no competent and willing and able city manager should go through, especially when you know that there is no reason for you to be at home, except for the fact that the majority of the council has made a wrong decision. So I am thankful and grateful for this judgement. I am so thankful that the good Lord has walked this path with me,” he said.

He added that many people across the country, including colleagues, friends and family, had contacted him to offer support.

“I look forward to going back. I want to take this council to the end of its term.”

Mettler said he wanted to continue the work he had started.

“Tshwane is a reasonably well-run metro. We have achieved significant milestones during this past period, and that is across the board. That must be concluded. I will do my best for this city, for its residents, for my colleagues and the staff of the city. We owe our best to the city.”

DA mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink welcomed the judgement as a victory for the rule of law and the residents of Tshwane.

He said the court had restored lawful administration by setting aside the unlawful decisions of the ANC-EFF-ActionSA coalition to suspend Mettler, reaffirming that political majorities cannot manipulate council processes.

He criticised the coalition’s handling of disciplinary matters, saying its decision to suspend Mettler, while giving what he described as ‘only a slap on the wrist’ to an official implicated at the Madlanga Commission, the metro’s reinstated chief financial officer, Gareth Mnisi, exposed its priorities.

“The court’s decision has confirmed that there are consequences when the law is ignored,” Brink said.

Brink also said the DA’s legal challenge relating to Mnisi would still proceed.

He said the party’s application to have what he described as Mnisi’s ‘ANC/EFF-engineered soft landing’ declared invalid would still be heard by the court.

“We cannot interdict what has already happened, but we hope that we can overturn it in due course. In any event, we cannot un-see what we have seen at the Madlanga Commission and in forensic reports,” Brink said.

FF Plus councillor calls for speaker’s removal

Freedom Front Plus councillor Grandi Theunissen said the judgement was expected because, in his view, the speaker’s conduct had been unlawful and irrational.

Theunissen said the Freedom Front Plus would write to the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo, requesting the speaker’s removal.

He added that those involved in what he described as the ‘fiasco’ should be held personally accountable for the legal costs arising from the case. Five advocates represented the metro throughout the length of the proceedings.

Theunissen further criticised what he described as delaying tactics by the ANC in council, saying it was time for those tactics to be challenged and for justice to prevail, as it had in Mettler’s case.

He said Mettler had become a target of the coalition government because of his commitment to rooting out corruption, adding that it was unlawful to suspend him for that reason.

Solidarity chief executive Dirk Hermann welcomed the judgment, saying it was a victory for Mettler, who he described as the victim of a political power struggle.

Hermann said rules had been misused to achieve a political objective at the expense of an individual. He said Solidarity’s interest in the case was not political, but focused on protecting individual rights.

Legal distinction explains interim status

A legal source explained that the high court’s order is an interim interdict rather than a final interdict.

The source said the interim order remains in place pending the outcome of the DA’s main application challenging Mettler’s suspension.

According to the source, the distinction was largely academic in this case because Mettler’s three-month suspension would likely have expired by the time the main application is heard.

The source also said that, because the order is interim and not final, it would be difficult for the metro to appeal the ruling.

The office of the mayor and the deputy mayor were contacted for comment, but no response was received at the time of publication.

Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel.

Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.