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Zandile Gumede due back at work on Tuesday as eThekwini mayor, but DA threatens court action

Details

durbanSunday Tribune reports that eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede is expected back at work on Tuesday, but the ANC provincial leadership must still decide on its next step after it forced her to take a 30-day leave of absence.  

Both her spokesman and her lawyer confirmed that the 30-day leave the ANC had asked her to take was due to end on Monday.  In May, Gumede appeared before the city’s Commercial Crimes Court on fraud charges related to a R208m Durban Solid Waste tender in which 62 councillors were also implicated.  She is out on R50,000 bail and is expected back in court in August.  While the mayor vowed to return to work after the period of forced leave, as resigning would seem like an admission of guilt for something she did not do, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said it was having none of that.  Executive committee councillor Thabani Mthethwa said they were in talks with their legal advisors and he indicated as follows:  “We have looked at whether she was in breach of her bail conditions when she presented the budget at the end of May and presided over Exco.  If she is in breach, automatically the police should re-arrest her.  We’ll take the matter to court if needs be.”  Meantime, IFP councillor Mduduzi Nkosi said he had written to Premier Sihle Zikalala requesting that an independent investigation be launched into the mayor’s conduct.  The ANC’s provincial spokesperson said they would make an announcement regarding Gumede once they knew the outcome of an internal party investigation into whether allegations against Gumede were politically motivated.

  • Read the full original of the report by Samkelo Mtshali & Wendy Jasson da Costa on the above story at Sunday Tribune


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