Trade union Solidarity has vowed to challenge the precautionary suspension of city manager Johann Mettler in court after a dramatic and fiercely contested council vote that opposition parties allege was manipulated when councillors’ votes were not considered, changing the outcome in favour of the suspension.

The union, which represents Mettler, accused the council of conducting a political ‘witch-hunt’, while the DA and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) alleged the council process was unlawful.

The allegations centre on claims that speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana disallowed 10 DA councillors and one FF+ councillor votes after votes had already been cast and counted, resulting in Mettler being suspended by 92 votes to 82.

According to information released after the meeting by the FF+, had the 13 councillors been allowed to vote, the result would have been 95 votes against the suspension and 92 in favour.

Solidarity’s chief executive officer, Dirk Hermann, strongly condemned the council’s decision.

“Solidarity represents Johann Mettler. We will not tolerate someone who stands up for the integrity of our city being bullied. There will be consequences if they continue with this. The city deserves justice and accountability.”

Solidarity spokesperson Anton van der Bijl confirmed that the union was preparing its legal response.

“We are meeting with our legal team on 10 July and will then determine the way forward and receive instructions. At this stage, it appears that a gross and substantial injustice has been committed against our member, and urgent legal action is certainly an option.”

The DA also announced that it was consulting its legal team following the council meeting.

DA mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said the party rejected both the process and the outcome.

“The DA condemns today’s unlawful suspension of Johann Mettler.”

Brink alleged that, “Mettler was suspended by the coalition of corruption after it unlawfully passed a baseless report brought by ActionSA executive mayor Nasiphi Moya.”

He further claimed that the vote had initially gone against suspending Mettler, saying, “The EFF proposal to suspend Mettler was in fact defeated on the votes cast.”

Brink alleged that after the votes had been counted, the Speaker intervened.

“However, the Speaker arbitrarily deducted votes from various parties, including the DA, reversing the outcome and paving the way for Mettler’s suspension,” he said.

He added that, “The speaker has failed to provide any lawful basis or reconciliation for deducting these votes.”

Brink concluded: “The DA believes today’s proceedings were a sham and fundamentally flawed. We have placed our serious objection on record.”

It was also stated by the DA that ActionSA voted against the suspension.

FF+ caucus leader Grandi Theunissen echoed those concerns during the council debate, describing the suspension as the second attempt after a previous suspension on June 25 had been found to be unlawful.

“This decision is unlawful for three clear reasons,” Theunissen said, “It is based on no factual evidence because the allegations are vague, broad, and unsupported.”

He also argued that the process contradicted established legal principles.

Theunissen stated: “No objective risk to the municipality has been proven.”

He said the FF+ had referred the matter to the Public Protector (PP) and warned that councillors who supported the resolution could ultimately be held personally liable for legal costs and fruitless expenditure if the courts overturned the suspension.

According to the DA and FF+, Ndzwanana ruled that a few DA councillors and a FF+ councillors‘ votes will not be considered after questions were raised about their attendance during earlier proceedings of the council’s special meeting on July 9.

The opposition parties argue that the councillors were present in person when the vote took place and that their votes were lawfully cast before being excluded.

The metro defended the decision in a statement issued by the Office of Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya.

Moya said the council had considered Mettler’s written representations submitted in response to the proposed precautionary suspension.

“After considering the representations, together with the applicable legislative framework and the matters previously placed before council, council resolved to place the city manager on precautionary suspension on full pay pending the outcome of the independent investigation.”

Her statement also sought to reassure residents that municipal operations would continue without disruption. The acting city manager will be Musa Khumalo.

“I appreciate that there has been public interest and speculation regarding the potential impact of these decisions on the functioning of the metro. I want to assure residents that the administration remains stable and fully focused on delivering reliable services, maintaining the city’s financial stability, accelerating infrastructure investment and improving the quality of life of all those who live in our capital city.”

The council at the same meeting also resolved to institute disciplinary proceedings against the metro’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Gareth Mnisi, following consideration of a final forensic investigation report into allegations of misconduct.

“Following its consideration of the final forensic investigation report into allegations of misconduct against the chief financial officer, council resolved to institute disciplinary proceedings against the CFO.

“Having considered the nature of the allegations and the applicable legislative framework, council further determined that the allegations constitute less serious misconduct as contemplated in… the regulations. The disciplinary process will now proceed in accordance with the prescribed statutory procedures,” said Moya.

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