Former Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse in court to challenge her removal from office

The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday is expected to hear the Democratic Alliance‘s (DA) application challenging the removal of Mpho Phalatse as the mayor of Johannesburg.

Phalatse heads to court

Phalatse was ousted from office through a motion of no confidence brought by minority parties during a special council sitting last month.

The African National Congress‘ (ANC) Joburg regional chair, Dada Morero, was voted in unopposed as Phalatse’s replacement after the DA-led multi-party government coalition collapsed.

The DA has described Phalatse’s removal from office as an illegal power grab by the ANC and its coalition partners in council.

Legal arguments

The DA is expected to argue in court that the programming committee meeting held on 29 September, which was chaired by Joburg council Speaker Colleen Makhubele, and the subsequent special council sitting to vote on the motion of no confidence in Phalatse was unlawful.

The party alleges that the programming committee meeting did not quorate and, therefore, the council sitting and its decisions were invalid.

Phalatse has insisted that the legal battle was not about wanting to hang on to power and maintained her stance that the council sitting was unlawful.

“I want to again reiterate that this is not about the positions we hold or once held, this is about the rule of law. Whether we go back into government is one issue, but our removal from government and the preceding events were illegal,” she said during a media briefing on Monday, 10 October.

The ANC, meanwhile, has already confirmed that its regional would oppose the DA’s application and that it was confident that it would successfully defend the matter in court.