Two ANC uMngeni Municipality councillors will appear before a disciplinary hearing after being charged for instigating July’s violent protest when residents took to the streets over electricity supply issues, which resulted in the destruction of property and financial losses to the council.

Residents of the Mpophomeni Township in the uMngeni Municipality engaged in violent protests following power outages in the area, due to a faulty transformer.

According to sources, video footage and photographs taken during the protest identified the two ANC councillors as the leaders of the protest.

The decision to charge the two ANC councillors followed an analysis of the video footage, which clearly shows the two councillors participating in the protest. The municipality had brought in security to stabilise the volatile situation and suffered losses to the tune of about R150 000.

uMngeni Municipality speaker, Janice Holmes, declined to comment on the matter.

“The municipality can only issue a comment once all processes have been concluded,” she says.

ANC Moses Mabhida regional spokesperson, Njabulo Mtolo, says the party is concerned about reports that its councillors have been charged.

“Our view is that the DA should have been charged for failure to deliver services to the residents of Mpophomeni. The residents embarked on the protest after the DA-led municipality had failed to supply them with electricity,” Mtolo says.

The protesters brought traffic in the municipality to a standstill after blocking the R617 to Underberg and Bulwer and marching to the offices of uMngeni Municipality mayor, Chris Pappas.

At the time of the protest, Pappas, who accused the ANC of instigating the protest, tweeted a video showing the protesters being given food by people, who Pappas labelled as ‘members of the ANC’.

The uMngeni Municipality which was under the control of the ANC until last year’s November municipal elections when it came under control of the DA after voters in the area backed the country’s official opposition.

Since assuming power in November, the DA has accused the ANC of destabilising the municipality, as part of the ruling party’s plan to dislodge the DA from power at the council.

The municipal area has been the scene of several service delivery protests prior to the DA taking over control.

While the municipality has the power to suspend or fine councillors, it requires the endorsement of KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC, Sihle Zikalala, to remove a councillor.