By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Johannesburg High Court has ruled in favour of the Democratic Alliance (DA) following the party’s challenge against ousted City of Ekurhuleni speaker Raymond Dhlamini’s removal.
The high court on Monday ordered Dhlamini be reinstated as Ekurhuleni council speaker.
Dhlamini was voted out as council speaker in a late night council meeting on 3 February.
His removal was spearheaded by opposition political parties including the ANC and the EFF and some smaller opposition political parties.
He was temporarily replaced by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) councillor Nthabiseng Tshivhenga.
But the court has ruled that Tshivhenga’s election was unlawful and should be reversed.
“Any decisions or acts taken pursuant to the unlawful decisions are declared to be unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid – and are reviewed and set aside,” the judgment reads.
The Ekurhuleni Municipality was further ordered to pay the DA’s legal fees including the costs of two counsel.
The 2 February extraordinary council meeting descended into chaos after Dhlamini adjourned proceedings before walking out amid continuous disruptions.
The sitting, which started at 1pm, was however, taken over by City manager Imogen Mashazi and resulted in Tshivhenga’s election as interim speaker.
Although the City’s adjustment budget tabled on the agenda was not passed, the remaining political parties in the meeting resolved to suspend a council rule on the six-month wait between motions of no confidence.
This decision has also been set aside by the Johannesburg High Court.
The DA governs the metro in a minority coalition with the African Christian Democratic Party, Cope and Freedom Front Plus.
Last year, the mayor, Tania Campbell, was briefly ousted in a motion of no confidence brought by the ANC.
A political dispute between the ANC and the EFF ensured Campbell was re-elected as mayor after the two parties failed to clinch an agreement.