Durban - The meeting of the Mtubatuba local municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday ended in chaos after councillors of the ANC and the EFF staged a walkout.
The meeting was called by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) over the recent Pietermaritzburg High Court ruling that rescinded the sending of four IFP councillors to the Umkhanyakude district municipality.
The ruling has caused political and administrative chaos in the rural municipality as the ANC-led coalition claims that it also put it back to power.
WATCH: This is the alleged assault incident that happened inside the chambers of Mtubatuba local municipality in KZN today. The chaotic meeting called by COGTA had to be abandoned due to chaos, vulgar language and threats. @IOL pic.twitter.com/nCr8szw2k8
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) June 29, 2023
According to eyewitnesses that spoke to IOL and videos shared with the news portal, the chaos started when a lawyer identified as Mbatha and who represents the municipality was asked to address the sitting before the Cogta delegation takes over.
Some female councillors from the ANC heckled him saying they won’t be addressed by “a lawyer of Inkatha.”
They repeatedly said that they know him as such and the meeting was not going to afford him any opportunity.
“This is an IFP lawyer, we know him, we won’t be addressed by him,” one female councillor was seen shouting at the top of her voice and even standing up to point at him.
“This is an IFP lawyer, we know him for attending cases (of Inkatha), he once represented you... we know him,” another female ANC councillor is seen in one video shouting.
After that, the councillors said he must move from the podium and started to chant “Move, Move! Move! Move!” while clapping their hands.
Before staging the walkout, one female councillor of the ANC was heard saying: “They won’t get Cogta’s money, they are mad.”
After the stalemate, the councillors of the ANC and the EFF decided to stage a walkout of the sitting.
Then one male councillor of the ANC leads the walkout and on his exit, he shouted an expletive directed at IFP councillors who ululated in celebration of the walkout.
“We won’t be commanded by Inkatha here, never! ,” the male councillor shouted while throwing his hands in the direction of the IFP councillors.
While walking out, another male ANC councillor said: “We have been called by Cogta, not you (the IFP).”
While the ANC councillors were leaving, two EFF female councillors remained seated, prompting one male councillor from the red party to ask them to follow him to talk outside.
“I am in charge here, let’s talk, stand up and come to me,” the male EFF councillor said, first directing his comment to IFP councillors who said he must leave alone and later to the female EFF councillor sitting down.
One of the female councillors appeared to refuse and one of the recorded the incident.
The male EFF councillor responded by hitting the camera of the unidentified person who was recording the incident.
After that incident, a councillor believed to be from the IFP was heard saying “he is beating her.”
The department has not yet said anything about the incident that comes shortly after guns were brandished within municipal premises.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
IOL Politics