The DA on Friday vowed to challenge in the courts the processes leading to the ousting of Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa and speaker Katlego Mathebe.
DA Gauteng leader John Moodey believes the process leading to their removal was unlawful.
“The DA is horrified by the scene that unfolded in council, which resembled nothing short of a coup,” Moodey said in a statement on Friday.
He charged that ANC and EFF councillors were joined in an illegal power grab which turned the council meeting into absolute chaos.
“When the meeting started, speaker Mathebe recused herself to make way for her elected deputy, councillor Zweli Khumalo. This was necessary as the first item on the agenda was a motion of no confidence against herself.”
Moodey said the EFF physically blocked Khumalo from taking the speaker’s seat, which led to a series of adjournments.
He said in a concerted and pre-arranged move, the ANC "illegally" brought in co-operative governance and traditional affairs deputy director general Willy Bhila to preside over the meeting.
When the DA objected to the presence of Bhila, ANC and EFF councillors elected councillor Obakeng Ramabudo to preside over a motion leading to the removal of Mathebe.
“Moments later, the ANC and EFF proceeded with a motion to remove mayor Mokgalapa.
“Observers must have thought they were no longer in South Africa but in a banana republic,” said Moodey.
