The Pretoria High Court has confirmed that tomorrow, Wednesday 29 July 2026, it will hear our urgent challenge against the Tshwane Council unlawfully suspending Tshwane City Manager, Johann Mettler.
A great deal turns on this week’s urgent application by the DA.
We want to overturn the Council’s decision to treat the allegations against the Group Chief Financial Officer, Gareth Mnisi as “less serious”.
If the ANC-led coalition is allowed to remove Mettler from office while giving Mnisi a soft landing, it will not only place taxpayers’ money at risk, but also further undermine public confidence in the institutions of local government.
At the beginning of the municipal financial year, the City Manager has a critical responsibility to oversee procurement, ensure that public money is spent lawfully and hold the administration accountable for that spending.
The allegations against Gareth Mnisi, having emerged during testimony before the Madlanga Commission, compel the City to treat them with gravity.
Instead, the coalition quickly carried out a disciplinary procedure, seemingly to act before the court could make a decision. This appears as a calculated move to act first to undermine or make the later court decision less effective.
The battle against state capture in Tshwane is ultimately a battle for the rule of law.
Residents deserve a municipality where officials are held accountable, where procurement is protected from political interference, and where the courts, not political expediency, determine whether unlawful decisions are allowed to stand.
Register to cast your vote on 4 November 2026 for an accountable DA-led administration that upholds the rule of law.