He is expelled together with 5 other councillors.
The ANC’s national disciplinary committee has dismissed a review application lodged by Nkomazi mayor Johan Mkhatshwa and 5 other councillors, upholding an earlier decision by the province to expel them from the ANC.
The ANC said the damage caused by Mkhatshwa “far outweighs” his argument for mitigation of sanction.
Mkhatshwa, councillors Siphiwe Mashele, Mumsy Khoza, Deli Mlangeni, Vincent Nyambi and Mancoba Mthethwa were expelled on 22 February 2022 after a disciplinary hearing – charged for defying orders of the ANC.
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The ANC had ordered Mkhatshwa and municipal speaker Siphiwe Mashele to resign from their positions because Mkhatshwa was not supposed to be mayor in the first place.
Mkhatshwa accepted nomination to stand as mayor and won on 23 November 2022 despite having failed the candidate interview process conducted by the ANC’s NEC.
Phindile Magagula won the interview but couldn’t be mayor as Mkhatshwa refused to vacate the post.
Nyambi is expelled for nominating Mkhatshwa and Mthethwa for seconding the nomination.
Mashele is expelled for availing herself for the post of council speaker and Khoza for nominating her.
In their review application to the disciplinary committee, the 6 asked the ANC to set aside the expulsion decision because first of all, they say, the Mpumalanga ANC PEC that suspended them had no “legal standing” to do so.
They say that’s because the PEC’s time in office had lapsed.
But the disciplinary committee rejected this argument and said the PEC had its time “extended” by the NEC, in terms of the party’s constitution, to take the province to conference – and any of its decisions stood.
Committee chair Ralph Mgijima said Mkhatshwa and the 5 councillors defied the disciplinary committee in atleast two instances.
First when they logged out of a zoom meeting in January 2022 and when they staged a walk-out on 10 February 2022.
“The damage caused by the applicants far outweighed the personal mitigating circumstances they placed before the NDC to reduce their sanction,” Mgijima said, adding that their application for review of the sanction of expulsion is dismissed.
“The guilty finding and the sanction of expulsion imposed by the PDC is confirmed,” he said on 17 July 2022 in his finding.
(edited by MLM)
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