By Luvuyo Mjekula
The ongoing feud between two factions of the Makhanda Citizens Front (MCF) over which of them has the right to lead the embattled organisation, is escalating into a bitter game of cat and mouse.
The two groups in the MCF are both heading to court to plead their case as rightful leaders of organisation.
On one hand, the one group is seeking to appeal an Electoral Court judgment that declared them unlawfully elected and ordered their removal, while the other faction wants the Makhanda High Court to force the Makana Municipality to reinstate them pursuant to the Electoral Court order.
Last month, the Electoral Court ruled in favour of Lungile Mxube, Phillip Machanick, Kungeka Mashiane, Jonathan Walton and Jane Bradshaw to be reinstated as the Proportional Representative (PR) councillors they were before being booted out of MCF by the faction of the now late Ayanda Kota.
The court set aside their removal and ordered their reinstatement.
However, the five councillors against whom the court ruled, have hit back with an intention to challenge the court’s decision on appeal. The five, Lungisa Sixaba, Milo Geelbooi, Thandisizwe Matebese, Zonwabele Mantla and Amanda Deke, who currently represent the MCF in the Makana Municipality Council, claim they were not given the opportunity to submit to the court, documents detailing their opposing position to the case of Mxube and four others. The five were in the proces of filing an application for leave to appeal. Gloria Soxujwa and Mahlubandile Kuhlane are set to join the appeal challenge.
Since the Electoral Court judgment, tension has intensified, not only between the two factions, but the Makana Municipality has found itself in the middle of the feud as the institution that pays the salaries of the MCF councillors. Tensions boiled over earlier this month when Makana council Speaker Mabhuti Matyumza summoned traffic officers to a special council meeting to remove Mxube, Machanick and Mashiane from the Council chamber. This after the trio refused Matyumza’s request to vacate council seats and seat in the public gallery.
Mxube and his team had insisted that the Electoral Court had ordered the municipality to hand them their jobs back. They eventually left the meeting out of their own will.
Again this week, traffic officers were seen camping outside the Council chamber as councillors sat in another special council meeting. But there was no sign of Mxube or his four group members.
Instead, this week, Mxube told Grocott’s Mail that on 23 July 2024, his group shall be at the Makhanda High Court where their legal team instructed by Brin Brody of Wheeldon Rushmere and Cole, will argue their case against Makana Municipality to urgently reinstate them into council. “The municipality sent our lawyer a letter saying they are suspending the operation of the Electoral Court order. This was strange because they did not comply already, they paid wrong people and tried to remove us from the special council meeting.”
Mxube pointed out that “rogue elements” never asked the court in their application for leave to appeal, that should it be granted, the implementation of the Electoral Court order must be suspended pending finalisation of the appeal.
Mxube said to add insult to injury, on Thursday, 26 June, his group received a notice from Matyumza and Makana municipal manager Phumelelo Kate, that the Makana Local Municipality had decided to oppose the urgent application Mxube and his group sought to bring to the High Court to force the municipality to reinstate them. “It is strange that an organ of state is now interfering with an internal and intra party dispute, taking sides, abusing tax payers’ money.”
Mxube asked for the public to support their cause to stop what he called abuse of power by the Makana Municipality. “We therefore call upon all residents, rate payers, citizens and business community to stand up, fight the abuse of their hard earned money.” He asked the public to join and support their “Save Makana Municipality and City Campaign”.
“Together we can stop this internal rot and save our city, restore it back into the City of Saints and remove the rot that converted our beloved city from the City of Saints into a City of Shame, Disgust and Disgrace.”
To join, make a donation and support the campaign, Mxube and Machanick can be contacted on 083 643 6405. More information, including community public meeting alerts, will be made availableon Facebook.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Kuhlane, who says he is the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) chairperson and MCF executive member, recently responded to “false claims of MCF PR councillors’ removal”.
“Lungile Mxube is not is not a member of MCF. He was expelled in 2022, the verdict is with the IEC and Electoral Court . Mxube, Machanich and Mashiane were all expelled both as members of MCF and PR councillors,” Kuhlane claimed in the statement.
He said the chairperson of MCF is Nosiqgibo Soxujwa while Lungisa Sixaba and the late Ayanda Kota are the known founding members of MCF as per documents filled with the IEC and the Electoral Court.
“Three weeks ago, Mxube, Machanich and Mashiane were all forced out of the council meeting after they illegally invited themselves claiming to be legitimate councillors. The council speaker Matyumza stated it out clearly that he does not recognize them as MCF councillors and called law enforcement to remove them from council sits.
“This clearly illustrates our truth that they are not members of MCF. These three are greedy power mongers who want to serve their interest. The PR councillors of MCF were chosen by the citizens of Makhanda in full view of the public.”
He said whatever the three said in public is their personal mandate, not that of MCF. “The MCF constituency does not recognize them. We reiterate that Mxube, Machanich and Mashiane are not members of MCF. They were expelled in 2022 and the IEC and Electoral Court are witnesses.”
This is despite the Electoral Court ruling in favour of Mxube, Machanick, Mashiane, Walton and Bradshaw.
