High Court declares Amajuba District Municipality mayoral appointments unlawful, leaving leadership in limbo

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled that the appointments of IFP's Thembelihle Mthembu as mayor of Amajuba District Municipality, and Isaac Shaka Sithole as his deputy are unlawful.

Thirteen Amajuba District Municipality councillors, including Ally Khoza, launched a High Court challenge on May 23, 2025, against the legality of a council meeting held on May 20, 2025. This meeting resulted in the election of Mthembu and Sithole. 

The applicants sought to have the election declared unlawful and all decisions made during that meeting set aside. The municipality and its council opposed the application.

Initially, on May 23, Judge Garth Harrison granted an interim order in favour of the applicants, requiring the municipality to provide reasons why the election and meeting should not be declared unlawful. The order also permitted both parties to submit additional affidavits. Earlier this week, Judge Pieter Bezuidenhout confirmed Judge Harrison’s interim order.

The core of the councillors’ claim was that after chaos erupted on May 20, the meeting was moved to a different venue. They assert they were subsequently denied entry to this new location by the police, and decisions were made in their absence, rendering the meeting unlawful.

Advocate Kwazi Mshengu, representing the 13 councillors, argued that the speaker of the municipality had a statutory obligation to notify all councillors about any necessary change in the meeting venue.

Mshengu, the former KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Education, challenged the respondents, stating that their affidavit failed to confirm if the speaker had informed the councillors of the venue change. 

Mshengu highlighted: “All that is stated is that the meeting was moved to another venue due to damage to infrastructure.”

Considering all the presented issues, Judge Bezuidenhout found that the May 20 meeting did not adhere to the requirement of at least 48 hours’ notice, as the notice was only issued on Saturday, May 17.

Judge Bezuidenhout asserted that the 13 applicants were entitled to attend the meeting as they had not been expelled.

“By not allowing them to be at the meeting, the meeting was irregular and should not have proceeded,” the judge said. 

He said he was satisfied that the applicants had made out a case that an interim order by Judge Harrison be confirmed. As a result of the ruling, Mthembu would revert to his previous position of deputy mayor, leaving the mayoral position vacant.

“The correct procedure should then be followed for the election,” Judge Bezuidenhout instructed. 

Furthermore, he ordered the municipality and its council to pay the costs of the application, including the reserved costs of May 23, noting that these costs include those for two counsel where applicable.

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za